Andrea Jackson and the Major
by percylupin
Summary: Everything that has been going on in Andrea Jackson's life recently has been odd to say the least. But when she meets Major Jasper Whitlock, who happens to be a vampire, it takes the cake. And to top it all off, she's his mate, although he never really clarified what that meant. And then there's the whole saving the world thing. Is it ever easy? Fem!Percy, JasperasMale!Annabeth
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, y'all. This is a new story idea that I hope you like.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the Percy Jackson series. This is just for fun and gives me no gain except the joy of having people read and critique my writing.**

 **Please no flames. If you are going to review, please give me critiques that I can use to improve my writing.**

* * *

Mrs. Dodds had been weird. Her best friend being half goat had been crazy. The minotaur who had killed her mother had been completely insane. So really, Andy wasn't sure what she found so unsettling about the young, blond man who was spoon-feeding her pudding as woke up. There wasn't even anything that strange about him! He looked normal enough. Curly blond hair falling about an inch below his chin, tall, muscular. He was pretty much your average 19 year-old, if not on the more attractive side of the scale.

Maybe it had been the deep scowl the young boy carried. Or was it the underlying layer of pain, anguish, and torture in his eyes. And his eyes. They were amber. Almost a golden color, too gold, in fact, to be natural. It could have been the pallor of his skin, so white it was like the man had never set foot outside.

Andy wasn't sure what it was, but it gave her an underlying sense of danger. The boy smirked, as if he could sense her fear. He pushed the bowl aside and lifted his hand to her forehead. His skin was cold, like he had absolutely no body heat, but Andy wasn't necessarily averse to it.

"Your fever's gone down, sugar," the older boy said, and Andy found herself entranced by the southern twang he spoke with. "How you feelin'?"

"Like I got hit by a minivan," Andy said. The boy cringed as if feeling her pain. "Don't worry," Andy continued, "it's a big improvement. Before I felt like I was hit by a tractor trailer."

The boy made a noncommittal hum and stood up. He placed the bowl that had held the pudding, which tasted like buttered popcorn, on the nightstand beside Andy's bed.

"Don't go," Andy pleaded, reaching out a hand to grab onto the boy's arm. Even through his long-sleeved tee-shirt, Andy could feel the cold of the boy's skin. "I don't even know your name."

"Major Jasper Whitlock, sugar," the boy said. He took one of Andy's hands in his own, and she nearly blushed at the gentle feel of his cold hands. Major Jasper Whitlock pressed his cool lips to the back of Andy's hand and carefully placed it back down on the bed.

By this point, Andy was convinced she was blushing like a fool. This boy was like a prince out of all of the fairytales Andy's mom had read her when she was a little girl who dreamed of being a princess.

"Andy Jackson," Andy replied, remembering her manners after a short pause.

"I know, sugar," Major Whitlock, said.

That was another thing that was unsettling to Andy. How could someone so young hold so much authority. Jasper Whitlock couldn't be any older than 19; yet, he was an army major.

"You best get some rest, Andrea," Major Whitlock said, running a cool hand through Andy's hair, and Andy shuddered at the wave of calm and tiredness that passed through her. Where had that come from?

"Are you leaving?" she asked, moving her hand to cover a yawn.

"You'll see me again, sugar," Major Whitlock smirked at her. Andy was too tired to even glare at him for sounding so egotistical in that one sentence. Her eyes fell shut as Major Whitlock left the room.

* * *

"Now, I'm sure you didn't call me back just to help you heal the girl, Chiron," Jasper said as he sat down next to his old mentor. "Why did you really call me here?"

"Your mother hasn't told you yet?" Chiron asked, shocked. "I would have thought they would have you help in the search." Jasper's only response was to raise an eyebrow at the centaur. "Zeus' Master Bolt has gone missing, Major. Stolen from the Throne Room on the Winter Solstice."

"And you're just telling me now?" Jasper asked. He couldn't help the slight scowl he shot at Chiron when he called him Major. Jasper knew it was a sign of respect from the centaur, but that name brought back old memories. Bad memories. "It could be anywhere by now."

"I have my suspicions," Chiron admitted, glancing around to make sure none of the campers were within hearing range. "Someone wants to start a war against Olympus. And who would you think stands to gain from a war?"

"I can think of several names," Jasper agreed, resting his elbows on the table. "Ares, for one."

"Do you honestly think this," Chiron asked, "or is it your old grudge against him?"

"Both," Jasper said softly, clenching his fist. "I'm not fighting in another war, if that's what you're asking. I'm done with all that. I'm going to a mortal high school now."

"So I heard," Chiron sighed. "I don't want you to fight. I would like to say I consider us close, Jasper. I don't want to see you like that ever again. No, I just thought you might be able to help recover the Bolt."

"I could," Jasper said. "Where would you have me search?"

"I believe Hades may have taken it," said Chiron in a hushed voice. "He and Zeus have been fighting more and more frequently, recently. I fear Hades may finally have become fed up."

"And what does Zeus think?" Jasper asked. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of him, resting his feet on the table. "I'm guessing he does not know you are asking me to do this."

"Of course," Chiron sighed. "The sky lord would never have agreed to this. He believes Poseidon is behind this."

"Why Poseidon?"

Jasper frowned. Thievery was not Poseidon's style. Nor Hades' for that matter. No, whoever stole the Master Bolt, and it couldn't have been a god, was working for someone with a much larger grudge against the Olympians.

"Zeus has been suspicious of Poseidon for centuries, before even your time."

"Of course," Jasper said. "I will help you, Chiron. Call a quest. I will join as the third member."

"And who do you suggest leads this quest?" Chiron asked, his lips had curled up in a smirk. Chiron, Jasper decided, was almost as bad as Edward in regards to knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"The girl," Jasper said. "Andrea Jackson."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys. I managed to get a new chapter up before a go away for the weekend, so yay me! I'm so glad you all love this story. I wasn't sure how much response this was going to get.**

 **Reviews:**

 **NicoleR85: Yes, this will follow both series. At the moment, this is when the Cullens are in Alaska. This will mostly have Percy Jackson in it, and then in the sequel I plan to write there will be more Twilight. Obviously, I will have to verge from cannon a little in Twilight since I have made Edward and Alice mates.**

 **Padfootette: Thanks a bunch!**

 **AgitatedDog9288: Thank you!**

* * *

Andrea woke up in a deck chair in the sun with her best friend standing next to her.

"Grover?" she asked, and she suddenly felt thirsty, like she could drink an entire great lake.

"Hey, Andy," Grover grinned. He handed her a tall glass of what looked like lemonade.

Andy took the straw between her lips and took a long sip. She winced at the taste. It was not the sour lemon she had been expecting, but the sweet taste of her mother's chocolate chip cookies. Andy could practically feel the chocolate dribbling down her throat. She quickly drank the rest of it.

"What's it taste like?" Grover asked softly, taking the empty glass and setting it on the small table next to the lawn chair.

"My mom's cookies," Andy sighed wistfully. She missed the taste already. Her mom... "Is my mom really..." She couldn't finish the sentence.

"I'm so sorry," Grover said, looking down guiltily. Andy took his hand as a tear trailed down her cheek. Why was it so nice out when she was so upset inside?

"The bull thing..."

"You killed it," said Grover, a small smile lifting the corner of his lips. "You saved my life."

Grover moved to grab a box from the table, and one of his shoes fell off. Where his foot should have been, was a goat hoof. Grover quickly shoved his hoof back into the shoe, but it was too late. Andy had seen. None of it had been a dream.

Grover handed Andy the box. Inside, was the Minotaur's horn. The horn Andy had used to kill the Minotaur after it had killed her mother.

"I went back to grab it for you," Grover said, blushing heavily.

"Thanks," Andy mumbled, her voice cracking.

"How do you feel?" Grover asked, changing the subject.

"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards," she said with a smile, though it didn't reach her eyes.

Grover laughed. "That's good," he said. "Come on. Mr. D. and Chiron are waiting to meet you. I'm pretty sure the Major wants to speak with you too."

"Major Whitlock?" Andy asked, accepting Grover's helping hand to stand up.

"You've met?" Grover asked wearily as he started leading Andy along the wooden patio they were on the circled the blue farmhouse Andy had seen from the top of the hill where the Minotaur had attacked them.

"Just once," Andy replied. "I woke up for like ten minutes, and he was in there talking to me."

"Ah," Grover said and said no more until they reached a medium-sized table with three men sitting around it.

Andy immediately recognized one of the men sitting around it. Jasper Whitlock. What had Grover called him? The Major. The Major was sitting entirely in the shadow . He was wearing different clothes now. Instead of the cargo shorts and orange tee-shirt he had been wearing earlier, he was wearing ripped jeans, a flannel, and a cowboy hat that was pulled down over his eyes. He looked like he could be sleeping, but Andy knew better. She could practically feel his gaze on her.

The second man took her a few seconds to recognize, but Andy would know that face anywhere. It was her Latin teacher back at Yancy. "Mr. Brunner," Andy said. It came out louder than she meant it.

Her wheelchair-bound teacher looked up and smiled gently at her.

"Hello, Andy," he smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better," Andy said. She looked at the other man curiously, waiting for him to introduce himself.

"This is Mr. D.," Mr. Brunner introduced the only man Andy couldn't recognize.

"Hello, sir," Andy said, holding out her hand for Mr. D. to shake. The man stared at it for a second before glaring at Andy.

"I suppose I must say it," Mr. D. sighed. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now don't expect me to be glad to see you."

Andy dropped her hand back down to her side.

"Why don't you sit down, Andy?" Mr. Brunner asked politely.

"Yeah, sure, Mr. Brunner," Andy mumbled, pulling out a wooden chair and dropping heavily into it. Grover sat in the seat next to her.

"Chiron," Mr. Brunner corrected gently.

"What?"

"My name is Chiron. I'm afraid Mr. Brunner is just a pseudonym."

"You can explain after we start the game, Chiron," the Major complained. He turned to Andy. "You play pinochle, right, sugar?" he asked. Andy hadn't noticed before, but he was holding a deck of cards and was now shuffling them with notable talent.

"Not really," Andy said, blushing at the nickname the Major seemed to have given her. "I've never really played many card games."

"It's easy," the Major said. "Here," he scooted his chair closer to her, "I'll play with you these first few hands until you get the hang of it." The Major turned to Grover. "Do you play, satyr? I apologize, I didn't quite catch your name."

"My name is Grover," Grover squeaked. He looked absolutely terrified of the Major. "I know enough to get by."

"Good," was all the Major said before dealing the cards. He picked up the hand he had dealt to himself and started sorting the cards, explaining to Andy the rules of the game as he did so.

"What's going on?" Andy blurted out several minutes into the game. Her curiosity was killing her.

"We just got 45 points," the Major replied, placing down two cards face up. He tallied the points onto the score card.

"I'll assume you mean in real life," Chiron sighed, sending a small glare at the Major. "Andy, what do you know about your father?"

"He died at sea," Andy said quickly. She hated talking about her father with anyone other than her mother. "Before I was born. I never knew him."

"He's not dead," Chiron said carefully, trying to avoid any shouting. "You know all the Greek myths?" He paused for only a second. "They're real, and your father is one of the gods."

"That's impossible."

The Major had finally looked up at Andy at this point. He flashed a ferocious grin at her, and she jumped back. His canines came too a sharp point. Sharper than any normal teeth.

"At this very moment, you are in the presence of a demigod turned vampire, a satyr, a centaur, and a god," he said. "Are you telling me that, after everything you've seen, you don't believe?"

"But it doesn't make any sense," Andy argued, shaking her head. "This isn't possible!"

"And yet it is," Chiron said, and he started to rise. The blanket fell off to reveal two fake legs and a long, white body rising out from inside the wheelchair. When it was all said and done, Andy's old teacher was standing in front of her with the upper half of a man and the rear half of a horse. He was a centaur.

"What the hell," Andy groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"Hades," Grover corrected softly, staring intently at his cards.

"What?" Andy demanded.

"Hades," the Major said, and Grover blushed profusely. "It's called Hades. Or the Underworld, but 'what the Hades' sounds better than 'what the Underworld'."

Andy was too shocked by the Major's response to say anything in turn. When she looked at Grover, she could see he was just as shocked. The Major just smirked at the two of them. He stood up from his seat, putting his cards face down.

"I'm folding," he said. "I'll go make sure there's a spot in Cabin Eleven for Miss Andrea." And he walked off. Andy, instead of being annoyed at him for saying her whole name, blushed profusely at the way it had sounded coming from his lips. What was it about Major Jasper Whitlock that turned her into such a blushing mess?

"You get used to it," Chiron said, and Andy wondered if he was some sort of mind reader.

"I thought he'd be more violent," Grover said, still watching the Major as he walked away.

"Only in battle," Chiron said ominously. "And pray that you never see him in battle, children. Now, I'm sure you have questions, Andy."

"Yeah," Andy agreed. "You're a centaur."

"Not much of a question," Mr. D. grumbled under his breath.

"Ah, yes," Chiron was smiling. "Do you remember what I taught you about Heracles' teacher?"

"You mean Chiron the..." Andy broke off. Her mouth hung open as she stared at her teacher. "You mean you're Chiron. Like the Chiron."

"Yes," Chiron said cheerfully, "I am the Chiron."

"But shouldn't you be dead?" Andy asked surreptitiously. "I mean, Heracles was alive, if all these myths really are real, millennia ago."

"I don't know so much about should be," Chiron sighed, looking sadly out at the fields around them. For the first time, Andy noticed the strawberry fields and the volleyball and basketball courts. There were kids all over the place ranging from around 9 years old to 19. "It's more I can't be dead. I am immortal."

"Immortal?" Andy asked.

"Yes," Chiron said. He was smiling wistfully now. "As a favor, the gods gave me immortality so I could continue teaching young demigods like you forever."

"You keep referencing Greek mythology," Andy said. "It's real, isn't it? All the gods, the monsters, everything?"

"And she finally gets it," Mr. D. grumbled. He snapped his finger and a goblet appeared, filled with red wine. Thunder rumbled across the sky.

"Your restrictions, Mr. D.," Chiron sighed without turning his gaze from Andy, who was staring at Mr. D. with wide eyes.

"You're Dionysus," she said, gaping at the god.

"Did you think I was Aphrodite?" Mr. D. asked, snapping his fingers again and changing the goblet of wine to a Diet Coke. He popped the tab and took a sip. His eyes locked with Grover's. "Mr. Underwood," he said, "Come. We must discuss your not so excellent performance again."

Grover gulped, but stood up. He followed Mr. D. from the table into the house. Andy watched her best friend worriedly.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked, turning back to Chiron.

"He'll be fine," Chiron assured her with a smile. "Now, back to your question. Yes, the Greek gods still exist. They shall live as long as Western Civilization does. They move with the heart of the West."

"And where is that now?"

"Why here, of course, my child. Mount Olympus is on top of the Empire State Building."

Andy blinked in shock. "You're telling me the Greek gods literally live a few blocks away from my apartment." Chiron nodded his head, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "What about the Roman gods? Are they real too?" Chiron's eyes lost their amusement. They grew tired, old.

"That is not a question I can answer for you, Andy. Do not ask anyone that question." Chiron sighed heavily. "Come along. I will take you on a tour of the camp."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello all! I would first like to thank everyone for the awesome response I got to this story. It always make my day to know people are enjoying what I write.**

 **Reviews:**

 **NicoleR85: Thank you so much.**

 **AgitatedDog9288: Thanks a lot. I hope so too.**

* * *

Chiron and Andy ran into the Major again by Cabin Eleven in the group of cabins. The cabin he stood in front of was the only normal looking one in the group of cabins. It was brown with peeling paint, filthy windows, and a broken screen door. In front of the screen door was a welcome mat, flattened by what was most likely years of being trodden on by pairs of feet.

"Welcome to your new home," the Major said sarcastically, swinging open the door as Andy and Chiron stopped in front of him. "Watch your back, Miss Andrea. Their patron is the god of thieves."

"Travellers if your nice," a blond boy grinned, stepping outside of the cabin. "Jasper never is."

Andy almost laughed as the Major balled one of his hands up into a fist and punched the boy, who looked to be about nineteen, maybe a year or so younger than the Major. She probably would have laughed if the boy hadn't looked to be in such pain. The Major hadn't punched him that hard, though. Had he?

"You're lucky I actually like you, Luke Castellan," the Major snarled, and Andy was shocked to hear an actual growl come from deep within the vampire's chest.

"Sure, Jazzy," Luke antagonized with an impish grin. The Major's eye twitched, but he didn't rise to the bait.

"Miss Andrea," he said, turning to look at Andy, "this is Luke Castellan. He'll be your counsellor while you stay in the Hermes cabin."

"Nice to meet you," Luke said, holding out a hand. Andy shook it genially. "You'll be staying here until you find out who your godly parent is. Then, we'll move you into their cabin."

"So everyone comes here at first?" Andy asked curiously, peeking over Luke's shoulder to look into the cabin. There were possibly fifteen people already inside the cabin. There didn't look to be enough room for her.

"Yeah," Luke sighed looking over his shoulder. "Well, I best set up a spot for you."

"I'll take you to see the forest while he does that," the Major said almost immediately after. "Chiron?"

"Go on, Major," Chiron sighed. "Be careful."

The Major nodded his head and held out an arm for Andy, which she took at the elbow, blushing furiously. She felt like one of the southern bells from the movies. The Major smirked at her, and her blush increased.

"Coming, sugar?" the Major asked before starting to pull her along in between cabins 9 and 11. Andy followed along with one last glance at Chiron and Luke. Luke was smiled encouragingly at her, but Andy could have sworn Chiron looked almost scared for a second.

* * *

"Where are we?" Andy asked as the Major lead her through the woods.

"Scared, sugar?" he asked with a smirk.

"No," Andy denied vehemently, shaking her head. As soon as the Major looked away, though, she shivered violently. There was something about him scaring her away and drawing her in all at the same time. The Major seemed to understand her feelings.

"I'm an empath, sugar," he said, looking down at her. "Don't bother lying to me. I can feel your fear."

"Yeah, well, I've just met you," Andy defended herself. "And now you're taking me into a forest. Not to mention you're a vampire."

Something flashed in the Major's eyes, anger or hurt, Andy wasn't sure, but in a matter of seconds, he had pulled her into his arms and jumped into the tree above them, climbing to the very top. Andy couldn't help but cling to him for fear of falling to the ground at least fifty feet below them.

When they reached the top, the Major jumped. Andy felt the wind whistling past her, but did not scream. She would not give the Major that satisfaction. There was a heavy thud, and Andy felt herself stumbling out of the Major's tight hold.

"I apologize for the shock that must have been," the Major said softly before Andy had a chance to catch her breath. "I did not mean to scare you, but we have reached our destination."

"A little warning would've been nice," Andy snapped. She crossed her arms over her chest and flopped down onto the hard stone ground, leaning back against a boulder that was situated behind her. The Major sat down beside her, legs crossed and back ramrod straight. "Where are we, anyways?"

"In the middle of the forest," the Major replied, still speaking in a soft voice. "We're about a mile from the camp. No one will bother us here, but we're still close enough if there's trouble."

"Why'd you bring me here, Major?" Andy asked suspiciously, eyeing the Major from the corner of her eye as she looked out at the trees surrounding them.

"To talk," the Major said. "It's Jasper, by the way."

"Huh?" Andy asked, finally turning to look fully at the Major.

"Jasper," the Major said with a small shoulder shrug. "I'd prefer it if you called me that."

"No one else does."

"You're different."

"How so?" Andy challenged with a small glint in her eyes. Jasper smiled when he saw it.

"Because I like you."

"Like how Luke called you Jasper?"

"He's the only other one besides of my family."

"Like your godly siblings?" Andy asked. She leant back on her hands a little and spread her legs out, throwing them over Jasper's lap.

"No," Jasper said, shaking his head. "My vampire family. I normally live with them. Carlisle is our leader, or father figure. Esme, his mate, is like the mom. She's the best. Then there's Rosalie. She and I pretend to be twins when we're with humans. Emmett is Rose's mate. Edwards the resident mind-reader, and Alice, Edward's mate, is a seer."

"What about your mate," Andy asked, prodding Jasper in the stomach with her toe. His body was literally rock solid.

"She's not a vampire," Jasper said. "I'll tell you soon."

"Promise?" Andy grinned.

"Promise," Jasper agreed, finally relaxing enough to lean back against the boulder behind him. "Now, I brought you out here to tell you about my kind."

"Your kind?" Andy asked, removing her feet from Jasper's lap and sitting up straight. "Why me?"

Jasper smirked at her. "Because you're comfortable around me," he said. "You know I won't hurt you, don't you? That I will never be a danger to you?" And Andy couldn't help but blush because it was true. Deep down, she knew Jasper would never hurt her, would always protect her.

"Why?" was all she could think to say.

"First, you need to understand vampires," Jasper said softly. "I'll tell you about the species, and then I'll tell you how I was changed."

"Is it a long story?" Andy asked.

"I am over 140 years old," Jasper said, his smirk changing into a small smile. Andy rolled her eyes, but moved so she was sitting next to Jasper, their sides pressed against each other.

"Tell me."

Jasper leaned his head back against the stone and closed his eyes.

"Okay, so I guess I'll start with what a vampire is. Most people think we're blood-thirsty killing machines, but that's not completely true. When a vampire is first turned, all they can think about is blood, but after the first year, the newborn stage as we call it, we get back our minds. Other than surviving off of blood instead of food and having slightly skewed morals, of course."

"Skewed morals," Andy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jasper grinned widely, as if remembering a fond memory. "You killed that monster with its own horn, sugar. I would have just jumped on its back and sucked it dry."

Andy's eyes widened comically. "You kill monsters by drinking their blood?"

"It tastes better than animal blood," Jasper said. "Hades, I'd go so far as to say it's better than human blood."

Andy opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, thinking better of it. Jasper grinned when he saw that.

"Anyway," Jasper continued, "Most vampires drink human blood, but several of us, my family and another one up in Alaska, drink the blood of humans. The human drinkers have red eyes, and the animal drinkers have golden eyes. All newborns have red eyes."

"Have you ever had human before?" Andy asked cautiously. She looked down at her lap as she asked, not sure if she wanted the answer to that question.

"Yes," Jasper answered softly. "But not since 1938. That's when I started drinking the blood of monsters. But yes, for 75 years I drank from humans."

"Was it odd for you?"

Jasper looked up at Andy with wide eyes. "What?"

"You know," Andy said, blushing heavily. "Was it weird drinking from humans when you used to be human yourself?"

Jasper stared at Andy as if she were crazy. "I just told you I used to eat humans, which you are, by the way, and you ask me if it was weird for me?"

Andy blushed, shrugging her shoulders, and Jasper laughed openly for the first time since they had met.

"It was hard," he finally said after managing to calm himself down. "Especially because I'm an empath. I could feel their pain and fear."

"Is that why you switched?" Andy asked, moving a little closer to Jasper. They were almost touching now, but Andy just couldn't help herself. It was like this need to be near him. "From humans to monsters?"

"Partially, yes," Jasper sighed. "I'll tell you the whole story later, but let me finish telling you about vampires." Jasper paused for a moment before continuing. "I told you about vampires' diets, so now turning. So, when a vampire bites a human but doesn't drink all their blood, the vampire's venom gets injected into the human's bloodstream and starts a process known as turning. The human's blood turns into a diamond-like substance. Turning normally takes three days and is incredibly painful. After the three days, the Newborn vampire wakes up."

"How painful is painful?" Andy questioned. She had seen Jasper's grimace of pain when he said the process was painful.

"So painful you can't even scream," Jasper said. "It's the worst thing I've ever felt."

"I'm sorry," Andy said. She didn't know what else _to_ say.

Jasper looked at her funny. "It was over 140 years ago," he said. "Besides, it's not like it's your fault in any way." Andy just blushed and looked away.

"What happens to your body when your turned?" she asked softly.

"Your skin becomes impenetrable except to the fangs of a vampire. You gain inhuman strength, speed, and agility."

"That's how you climbed the tree so fast and jumped so far, right?" Andy interrupted. Her green eyes were wide and curious.

"Yeah," Jasper said. "I'm also incredibly fast and strong, even for my kind. I retained all of my training from here and from the army."

"You were in the army?"

"That's how I got the nickname the Major. I was the youngest Texas Major in the Confederate Army. Still am the youngest Major."

"Only alive one too," Andy joked, and Jasper rolled his eyes.

"That too," he agreed. "So, anymore questions about being a vampire, or do you want me to move onto my story?"

"Your story," said Andy.

"Better get comfortable," Jasper sighed. He closed his eyes as he began to talk. "I was born in 1844 in Houston, Texas. I grew up on my family's farm there with my father and older half-brothers until I was seven. We were attacked by a hellhound. I was the only one to make it out alive. I went on the run then. The nineteenth century was a bad time to be an orphan. I was found by a satyr somewhere in Virginia. He brought me here.

"I stayed in the Hermes cabin, the cabin your staying in, for two months before my mother, Athena claimed me. I started my training after my claiming. I stuck mostly to using knives, a bow, or a sword, but my favorite was the knife.

"When I was fourteen, a war broke out. I was the commander of my cabin, and I was the main strategist. Right before my sixteenth birthday, I was captured by the other side in the war. I was held there and tortured for seven months before I managed to escape. When I first went into that war, I wanted to spare as many lives as possible. After I escaped, I stopped caring. We won the war in about five months after that."

"Who was the war against?" Andy interrupted Jasper.

"Can't tell you that, sugar," Jasper said, his voice had turned cold while he was telling his story, and Andy could picture him the way he described. Cold, heartless, a man bent on revenge. "Not allowed to."

"Why?"

"Order from Olympus," Jasper said. There was a desperate look in his amber eyes, and Andy knew it was time to stop asking questions about it. "I shouldn't have even told you there was a war. Anyway, after the war ended, I went back to the mortal world. I just couldn't stand the reminders of my torture. I went back to Texas and joined the Confederate Army. I was only seventeen, but I had already fought in a war, so I figured 'What the Hades.

"I quickly rose through the ranks and became the youngest Major in Texas history. For two years, I fought against the North, until I met Maria. I was on my horse, heading back to the camp from Galveston where we had been evacuating the women and children. I was by myself when I came across three women, three vampires. The leader, Maria, bit me, turning me.

"I became the Major of Maria's army in the South. There were territory wars going on so that vampires could have more hunting ground. I was Maria's most trusted, her right hand man, and her lover. A few years later, I turned a man named Peter. He became my best friend, or as close a friend as one could have during the Southern Vampire Wars.

"Years later, I turned a girl called Charlotte. She was Peter's mate. I'm an empath, meaning I could feel all the emotions between the two of them. I knew what I felt for Maria was nothing like what they felt for each other. So, when I was ordered to kill Charlotte, I let Peter and Charlotte runoff.

"I stayed with Maria until 1938, growing more and more depressed from feeding off humans the entire time. In 1938, Peter and Charlotte came back for me, and I ran off with them. That was when I switched to drinking the blood of monsters.

"Ten years later, in a small diner in Philadelphia, I met Alice Brandon, a vampire who drank animal blood. I joined the Cullen family with her, and am still with them today."

So why are you here now?" Andy asked after a moments silence. "Why aren't you with your family?"

"Chiron asked for a favor," Jasper said simply. "I owed him one."

"What kind of favor?"

Jasper was saved from answering by the horn signaling dinner being blown. He swung Andy up and ran to the Dining Pavilion, dropping her off on the outside before he ran off again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Here's the newest chapter! I am so happy you all love this story. I honestly didn't think it would get this much response. I hope you enjoy this next chapter too!**

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* * *

Andy didn't see Jasper again until the next day when he was scheduled to give her a lesson in Ancient Greek. He was wearing an outfit nearly identical to the one he was wearing the day before, the only difference was in the color of the flannel.

"Ever read any Homer in school, sugar?" Jasper asked, completely ignoring the hello Andy gave him as she sat down next to him.

"I've read the English translation of _The Iliad_ ," Andy replied. "Does that count?"

Jasper groaned and rolled his eyes. He mumbled something under his breath that Andy couldn't quite hear. Jasper pulled out a book and flipped through a couple of pages to the first chapter. Andy recognized the Greek letters Chiron had showed her Latin class.

"You know the Greek alphabet, right?" Jasper asked. "Or did Chiron teach you absolutely nothing?" Andy absentmindedly listed off all the letters as Jasper kept flipping through the book.

"You know," Andy said after listing off Omega, "you never did tell me who your mate is."

Jasper instantly froze, a corner of the page he was holding ripping slightly at the force of his grip. "I was hoping you'd forget," he mumbled, so quiet Andy almost didn't hear him. She wondered if she was meant to. "But you won't will you?"

"Not until you tell me," Andy said, almost smiling at the exasperated look on Jasper's face.

"What if I told you you would hate me if you knew?" Jasper looked so dejected, so not the Jasper Whitlock Andy was slowly getting to know, that she almost reached out to pull him into a hug. Almost.

"I'd be even more curious," Andy said, nudging Jasper's side with her shoulder. "Why? Is it Nancy Bobofit?"

"Who?" Jasper asked, looking at Andy oddly, and Andy blushed. Jasper had that effect on her.

"This girl who was at my boarding school," Andy mumbled. "She shared my room with me and this other girl. They both liked to bully me a bit."

"How much is a bit?" Jasper asked, and Andy could have sworn she heard a growl come somewhere from deep within his chest. Jasper moved closer to her. "Did they hurt you?"

"No," Andy said. She could feel her heart picking up as she lied to Jasper.

"What did I tell you about lying?" Jasper asked, and Andy was positive he growled this time. "I always know. How bad did they hurt you?"

"Just a few bruises every now and then," Andy said, trying to brush it off. "I've had worse. It was mostly teasing about my family being poor and stuff. It was stupid, and I'm over it."

"No your not," Jasper said. He wrapped an arm around Andy's shoulders and pulled her against him. She shivered as she came in contact with his frozen body.

"Your changing the subject," Andy grumbled even as she curled further into Jasper's hold. "Why do you even care?"

Andy could feel Jasper's hold on her tightening, almost as if he were afraid she was going to disappear. But why would a soldier vampire who hardly knew her be afraid of her leaving?

"Please don't hate me," Jasper whispered softly. He had shifted slightly, so he could look at Andy directly. Andy squeezed the hand he had resting on her shoulders comfortingly. "I've been alive for over 160 years, sugar. I've been a vampire for around 140. In all that time, I never found my mate. I was lonely. Even with my family, I'm still lonely. I've never had someone who I could say 'I love you' to. And then, I received a call from Chiron, asking me to come here. I came, thinking I had nothing better to do. And I found her. My mate. I had only been here for a few hours when I heard a commotion coming from Half-Blood Hill. Chiron and I raced to see what was wrong, and there was a girl. She was no more than twelve-years old, holding onto an unconscious satyr, crying and calling for help."

"You were the boy?" Andy asked, sitting up slightly.

Jasper sighed and nodded his head. "Yes," he said. "Chiron and I were the ones to find you and Grover. I knew instantly, sugar. Right when I saw you. I had found what I'd been looking for my entire vampire life."

"Me," Andy whispered, disbelieving. "I'm your mate?" Her voice steadily rose in volume as she looked at Jasper with shock.

"Does that bother you?" Jasper asked. Andy could practically feel his nervousness.

"No," Andy said quickly, still in shock. "It's not that. It's just this is a lot to take in at once, you know?" Andy started chewing on her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit she had picked up that she didn't seem to be able to break. Her lips were constantly chapped because of it.

"I'm sorry," Jasper said. He pulled away from Andy and pulled his knees to his chest. "I understand if you don't want this. I was going to wait to tell you, until we had gotten to know each other a little better."

"It's not that," Andy sighed. She reached out and took Jasper's hand. "It's just, I'm a little young, aren't I? I'm only twelve."

Jasper turned to look at Andy with an almost amused smile.

"Nothing is going to happen until you're older," he said. "If you want me when you're older, I mean." Andy wondered what had happened to him to make him so worried about her not wanting him. "Until your old enough, I'll just be your friend. Nothing else."

"My best friend?" Andy asked, her lips twitching into a smile.

"If that's what you want," Jasper said. His confidence had seemed to return. There was a slight smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "I warn you now, I'll probably be a possessive bastard."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Andy snorted, raising both eyebrows at Jasper.

"I'll probably get jealous," Jasper said. "If you're flirting with other boys, I mean. Vampires are naturally jealous creatures."

"Are they really?" Andy asked, laughing.

At Andy's laughter, Jasper seemed to finally relax. "Shut up," he grumbled, shoving Andy's shoulder lightly. Andy just kept laughing and leaned back against Jasper.

"Aren't I supposed to be teaching you?" Jasper asked once Andy had finally stopped giggling.

"You're not doing a very good job," Andy agreed, a large grin plastered across her face.

"Yes, yes," Jasper said. "And I'm sure Chiron will yell at me later for getting distracted, but I really don't feel like giving you a Greek lesson right now."

"I'm okay with that," Andy said. "Maybe you could show me the ocean."

"I might just take you up on that," Jasper grinned.

* * *

Andy laughed when they reached the beach. She dropped Jasper's hand and immediately ran to the water's edge, kicking her sandals off. Another laugh bubbled up in her throat as the water tickled her bare toes.

"Come on, Jasper," she laughed, beckoning the vampire forward. "I promise there's nothing in here that will bite!"

"Except, you know, all the water demons and monsters," Jasper said, rolling his eyes. Still, he stepped forward after removing his boots to stand next to Andy.

"Those are real?" Andy asked with wide eyes. Jasper laughed and nodded his head.

"Yes, Andy," he said. "But don't worry because I'll protect your little toes from being eaten by the big, scary monsters."

"Very funny, Jazz," Andy groaned, she shoved him, but he didn't move. "Really?" she asked. "You couldn't humor me?"

Jasper grinned at Andy. "If I must," he sighed dramatically. He stuck both arms out and flopped on his back into the surf. Laughing, Andy jumped on top of him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, everybody! How's it all going? I hope you all like the new chapter!**

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* * *

"What's going on?" Andy asked Jasper as he led her over to stand by Luke. "Why is everyone separating into teams?"

"Capture the Flag, Jackson," Luke cheered with a crazy grin. "You, Jazz, and me are all on the same team."

"I'm not playing," Jasper said, rolling his eyes. "Vampire remember, Castellan?"

"Oh yeah," Luke grumbled. He winked at Andy playfully, and Jasper's glare intensified. Luke just ignored him.

"Do you just watch, then?" Andy asked Jasper, completely ignoring Luke.

Jasper's eyes softened as they turned to Andy, and she couldn't help her blush. "Yeah, I watch," he said, running his hands through his hair. "But I also plan out our battle strategies, like where everyone is stationed and where we put the flag."

"You learned how to do that in the wars?" Andy asked.

"Yeah," Jasper agreed. "I planned out most of Maria's battles."

"How come you answer all her questions?" Luke muttered under his breath.

"Because I like her," Jasper said, his eyes hardening once more. Andy couldn't help reaching out to take his cold hand in her own warm one.

* * *

"So I just stand here," Andy clarified as she looked up at Jasper.

"Uh huh," Jasper said. He gave Andy with a small grin. "Don't worry. If anything really bad happens to you, I'll be right up in that tree."

"Thanks," Andy muttered. She subconsciously pulled at the shoulder strap of her armor. "For watching out for me, I mean."

"I always will," Jasper promised, and then he was gone.

All Andy felt or saw was a small burst of wind and a flash of color. Then utter silence.

Andy stood by the river for a good fifteen minutes before anything exciting happened. In that time, Jasper hadn't moved or made a sound. Andy couldn't forget he was there, though. She could practically feel him.

"Well, if it isn't the newbie," a large girl with stringy brown hair smirked as she made her way across the river. Five bulky boys followed behind her.

Andy struggled to lift her sword, and it was almost too heavy. The blade was just a foot shorter than she was tall. The bulky girl laughed and raised her spear.

"Haven't had a chance to introduce myself yet, newbie," she said. "Clarisse La Rue. I would have given you the complete initiation, but you've practically been glued to the Major's hip since you woke up. Ain't no way I'm messing with him."

"Scared?" Andy sneered. She pointed her sword at the girl, her arms quivering from the weight.

"No," Clarisse said. "But you are, Jackson. I can see you shaking."

Without any further notice, Clarisse charged at Andy, spear raised. Andy tried to move her sword to deflect it, but all she managed was to direct the spear towards her left arm instead of her stomach. She hissed as the arm went numb, shocks of electricity running through it. Andy thought she could hear Jasper growling from the background.

Clarisse didn't seem to notice. She jabbed at Andy again, and all Andy could do was drop her sword and jump back. She landed on the ground on her back. The five other kids that had followed Clarisse started laughing.

"Is the little princess scared?" Clarisse mocked as she raised her spear above Andy, ready to impale it in her thigh. It would hurt, but it wouldn't kill.

"No, but you should be," Andy snapped back.

Clarisse glared at her and kicked her leg. "And why's that, princess?"

"Because of me," Jasper hissed, jumping down from his tree. His eyes were pitch black, and he was angrily staring down Clarisse. The five boys immediately shut up. "Stand down now, soldier."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Clarisse sneered, but Andy could see her shaking. "You're not supposed to even interfere in the games."

"I am if someone's not following the rules," Jasper retorted, smirking cruelly. Andy finally understood why Grover had been so scared of him when they first met.

Jasper reached out with lightning speed a grabbed Clarisse's spear. Taking aim, he threw it off into the woods.

"Go fetch, puppy," he snarled, sending another harsh glare at Clarisse. she quickly ran off with the five boys.

Jasper took Andy's hand and helped her off the ground, brushing the dirt off of her within milliseconds. Quickly, Jasper led her to the stream and stuck her hand in it.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he cupped some water in his hands and brought it up to the cut on Andy's arm. "That spear was electric."

"I guess," Andy sighed. "I mean...I honestly thought she might kill me for a second."

"No," Jasper said. "I doubt she would have gone that far. I was feeling her emotions. She wanted to cause you pain, not kill you." Jasper pulled his hand back from washing away the blood on Andy's arms. "Huh," he mumbled under his breath.

"What?" Andy asked, looking at her arm to see what he had noticed. The cut was completely healed. "How did-"

"The water must have healed it," Jasper mutter before Andy could even finish her sentence. "This is good. It means we've narrowed down the list of gods who could possibly be your father."

"Who do you think it is?" Andy asked shyly.

She wasn't sure she wanted to know who her father was. Before, she could pretend her father had never abandoned her because he was dead. But now? Now, she knew he was out there and had just never deemed her important enough to come and visit.

"Definitely a god of some body of water," Jasper said under his breath. "Most river gods have nymph children, though. You're not secretly a naiad, are you?"

"Really?" Andy asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Did you even need to ask that?"

"No," Jasper said. He smiled at her, but Andy could tell he wasn't really in it. "I smell the sea on you, but it's not as strong as a naiad or nereid."

"You can smell all of that?" Andy asked. Jasper shrugged, nodding his head.

"Vampire senses," he mumbled. "I can smell the godly blood running through your veins. I can smell the mortal blood. I can smell the sweat from you and all the other campers in this forest."

"Do I smell bad?" Andy joked, lifting her arm and sniffing.

Jasper laughed, his shoulders shaking ever so slightly. Andy supposed it was a vampire thing.

"Not bad," he assured her. "You smell like the ocean. Salty, but clean and refreshing at the same time. It's hard to describe." Before Andy could say anything, Jasper's head flipped to the side, across the river. "Someone's coming," he said, instantly jumping to his feet. Andy stood up behind him.

Suddenly, she heard it. A branch snapped. Heavy panting. A flash of blond between the trees. A red flag. Shouts were starting to come now. Luke was running towards them, being chased by about a dozen campers from the Ares cabins' team. In just a few seconds, he would be over the border. Ten feet. Five feet. Three feet. He had made it.

Loud cheers came up from the Athena cabin's side of the woods. In the distance, a conch shell was blown. Jasper nodded his head to Luke, who was grinning crazily, waving the Ares flag over his head.

"We won," Andy said, grinning. She grabbed Jasper's hand. "We really won."

"Of course we did," Jasper replied quietly. Only Andy was close enough to hear him. "I planned the whole thing."

"Egotistic much?" Andy asked with an eye roll.

Jasper just grinned. Just as quickly as the smile had come, it faded. There were two growls, and then Jasper was lunging at Andy. She felt something rake across her back, but she didn't have time to register it, because Jasper had already tackled the beast. The fight was a blur to all of the campers eyes, but once it was done, all that was left was a pool of shadows leaking back into the ground, and a large claw a little larger than a bears.

Andy suddenly felt woozy. She could feel the stickiness of her own blood on her back, but she had yet to feel any pain. Her knees buckled, and Jasper rushed forward to catch her.

"Blood," she whispered softly. She reached up with her hand and wiped away a small splash of blood on Jasper's chin.

"I'm sure, sugar," Jasper said, and Andy giggled deliriously. "Let's get you in the river, yeah."

The pain suddenly registered in Andy's mind, and she cried out.

"Major," she heard Chiron call. There was a galloping of hooves across the forest floor, and Chiron helped Jasper bring Andy to the river. She sighed as the cool water touched her back. She could suddenly hear all the whispers around her as people started to crowd closer.

"Watch, Chiron," Jasper said.

He helped Andy into a sitting position, and she jumped to her feet from there. The water had made her energized. It always had.

"She's dry," she heard several people mutter. "The blood. The claw marks. They're all gone."

"I haven't seen anything like this since," Chiron started to say.

"Winston," Jasper finished.

All of the whispers immediately stopped. One by one, campers got down on their knees, bowing their heads. Next to Andy, Jasper got on one knee and bowed his head.

"Hail Andrea Jackson," Chiron called out, bowing to Andy. "Daughter of the sea king."

When Jasper looked up at her, Andy could have sworn he looked troubled, but she shrugged it off as he grinned up at her.

* * *

"Hello, Jasper," a tall, dark-haired woman greeted the vampire as he entered the room.

"Lady Athena," Jasper replied, scowling. "Why are you here?"

Athena scowled at her eldest living son.

"I have heard word you have found your mate, Jasper," she said as calmly as she could. "The daughter of Poseidon."

"I have," Jasper answered, his voice void of emotion. He refused to look his mother in the eyes that had been identical to his own before he was turned. "You have never come to visit me for any other milestone in my life. Why now?"

"She's Poseidon's child," Athena said. Her disgust was clear in her voice. "I won't allow it Jasper. No son of mine shall be with a daughter of the sea scum."

Jasper suddenly looked into his mother's eyes, his own full of rage and what could only be described as a mix of hate and contempt.

"You are no mother of mine," he hissed. "Esme Cullen is my mother. She is the only woman who has ever cared about my well-being the way a mother should. Do you know what she did when I told her my past, Athena? She hugged me and told me she loved me anyway. Do you remember what you said to me, _mother dearest_ , when I escaped the Roman camp?" Athena said nothing, but Jasper knew she remembered. The daughter of the titan of memories never forgot anything.

"You told me I was a _disappointment_ for failing to destroy them. A _disappointment_ , Athena. I have spent too long trying to please you, trying to get you to tell me you were proud of me. So you have absolutely _no right_ to call me your son. You have no right to tell me what to do and who I can or can't date. Only Esme and Carlisle, my _parents_ , have that right."

"Jasper," Athena tried, but Jasper cut her off.

"I'm really not in the mood, Athena," he scowled. "Good bye."

Athena could only watch sadly as her son left the room. She shouldn't have said the things she did that night. She hadn't been in her right mind. Her Greek and Roman forms had been warring inside her mind as her two families warred on the outside. She had said stuff she hadn't meant, but, since then, her son hadn't spoken a word to her. With a heavy heart, Athena disappeared back to her palace.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, everyone! So this is a pretty long chapter. Over 2k words! I hope you all like it. Alice makes an appearance via phone call to Jasper. The rest of the Cullens will come in later after the quest for the Master Bolt, so don't you all worry.**

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* * *

"So what exactly am I supposed to be doing here?" Andy asked Jasper as she lifted the heavy bronze sword he had given her for training.

"It's simple," Jasper said, laughing at the look of frustration Andy threw him. "Blocking is easy. I'm going to swing my blade at you, and you just need to lift yours up to block mine. Piece of cake."

"If you say so," Andy grumbled. She had hoped Jasper wouldn't hear, but judging from the smirk he gave her, he had heard just fine.

Jasper lifted his sword with ease and swung it down at Andy. She was just able to lift her sword in time to block it. Jasper smirked at her and swung again. Once again, Andy was _just_ able to bring her sword up in time.

"You're not bad," Jasper said, grinning widely at Andy. He swung his sword around by the hilt and sheathed it.

"You're just saying that because I'm your mate," Andy sighed. She dropped the sword and flopped onto the ground. "I suck."

"No," Jasper argued, bending down to pick Andy's fallen sword up. "You're actually decent for a beginner. Keep in mind I'm a vampire. Most trained swordsmen wouldn't be able to keep their grip on the blade if I was going against him."

"You're going easy on me." Andy brought her hands up and ran them through her hair. She had had one of the Aphrodite girls, Silena, cut it for her, and it was now just a few inches below her chin.

"Not any easier than I go against any of the new people I train," Jasper said. He put Andy's sword on a table a few yards away and moved back to sit on the ground next to Andy. "Most of the people I train drop their sword within the first few swings. You didn't."

Andy rolled over onto her side to face Jasper. She reached out across his stomach and took his hand. Jasper rolled over so they were face to face. "Something's on your mind," Andy said suddenly, breaking the short moment of silence she had shared with Jasper. "You're more silent than you are usually."

Jasper's lips twitched upwards slightly, and he squeezed Andy's hand. "Chiron is organizing a quest. He wants you to lead it."

"What did you tell him?" Andy asked. She had turned her eyes down, away from Jasper's golden gaze. She stared steadily at their clasped hands, Jasper's so much larger and paler than her own, tanned one. "I doubt you're happy about this."

"I'm the one who suggested you lead it," Jasper replied softly. He took a deep, unnecessary breath. "You, me, and anyone else you choose to come with us. Aren't you going to ask what it is?"

"Aren't you going to tell me anyways?" Andy asked, her lips curving upwards ever so slightly as she shifted closer to Jasper.

"You're scared," Jasper said softly. He removed his hand from Andy's and wrapped it around her smaller body. He pulled her against his chest and rolled onto his back, taking Andy with him. Jasper propped himself up on one elbow. "Don't be. I'll never let anything hurt you."

"I know," Andy muttered. She rested her cheek against Jasper's chest. Even through his orange camp shirt, she could feel his freezing skin. "What's the quest?"

"Travelling to the Underworld," Jasper said. He dropped his elbow and fell to the ground, oblivious to the sound his skull made when it cracked against the pavement of the training arena floor. "Zeus' Master Bolt has been stolen. Chiron believes Hades took it. Zeus blames Poseidon. You need to get the Bolt and bring t to Olympus before the Summer SOlstice."

"Or what?" Andy mumbled, turning to bury her nose in Jasper's shirt. "There was definitely an or what in there."

"War," Jasper said. "And you'll be the first Zeus kills."

"You'll let him?" Andy asked, startled. She rested her hands on Jasper's chest when she felt his growl.

"Never," Jasper snarled. "I would die before I saw you dead."

Andy settled back against Jasper's chest, wrapping her arms around Jasper's neck. "I believe you," she said, closing her eyes.

Jasper let Andy rest for a few minutes before standing with her still in his arms. "Chiron's calling us," he said in explanation to Andy's questioning glance. "I'll run us." Andy didn't get a chance to respond as Jasper tightened his grip and took off. In a matter of seconds, the two were standing in front of Chiron, Mr. D, and Grover.

"Andy," Grover exclaimed, bleating nervously at the sight of Jasper. Andy ignored the vampire in the room and pulled her satyr friend into a quick, tight hug. Jasper said nothing, but when Andy let go he quickly pulled her back into his side.

"Possessive much?" Andy hissed.

"I warned you, sugar," Jasper whispered back.

"Andy, I assume Jasper's told you about the quest?" Chiron asked. He seemed set to ignore Jasper's random vampire noises. "And what is being asked of you?"

"Yes, Chiron," Andy said. "Jasper told me everything. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Chiron said. "But first, you must consult the Oracle."

"Who?" Andy asked.

"She gives a prophecy for each quest," Jasper said softly.

He was staring straight ahead when Andy looked up at him. He seemed lost in his memories. Maybe of another quest, long ago, when he was still just a demigod.

"Where do I talk to the Oracle?" Andy asked. She took a step away from Jasper and towards Chiron. "Let's get it over with now."

* * *

The attic was filled with junk. Old, dusty junk. Some of it was souvenirs from different places demigods had been, but the rest of it was old relics. Old trophies monsters left behind when they had been killed. There was a jar of eyeballs over in one corner.

That wasn't the grossest thing, though. The grossest thing was a mummy sitting on a stool by the single window in the attic. Somehow, Andy knew _that_ was the Oracle. Andy took a cautious step towards the mummy. For some reason, Andy was more scared of the Oracle than she had ever been of Jasper.

Andy was only a feet away from the mummy when it suddenly sat up straight. It's mouth opened, and green smoke spewed out of it. The smoke fell to the floor before rising up and forming shapes.

 _I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask_ , the smoke seemed to whisper in Andy's mind.

A table was the first corporeal shape the smoke formed. Then four men. They all turned to face Andy. Andy had half a mind to turn around and go back down to the porch.

It took a lot of courage for Andy to be able to say, "What is my destiny?"

The first smokey figure turned to face Andy. She recognized him instantly. Smelly Gabe. Her stepfather. Would she have to live with him now that her mother was dead? No. Andy wouldn't allow it. She would figure something out. Maybe she could live with Jasper's vampire family.

Smelly Gabe opened his mouth, but it was the Oracle's scratchy voice that came out.

 _You shall go west, and face the god that has turned._

Gabe's poker buddy on the right spoke next.

 _You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned._

Next was the guy on the left.

 _You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend._

The last one to speak Andy recognized as Eddie, their apartment building's super.

 _And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end._

The smoke started to dissolve.

"Wait!" Andy shouted just as the figures and table collapsed and went rushing back into the Oracle's mouth. The mummy closed its mouth and slouched back against the wall. "What friend? What will I fail to save? Do I not complete the quest?"

Andy stayed for another five minutes, but when the Oracle made no move to speak again, she turned from the mummy. Andy made her way down the attic ladder.

* * *

"Well?" Chiron asked once Andy had taken a seat between Jasper and Grover.

"She said I would find what was stolen," Andy said with a shrug. She had her elbows on the table and was resting her chin in her hands.

"That's great!" Grover said, chewing excitedly on the remains of his Diet Coke can. Andy wondered if he ever cut himself.

"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."

Andy looked over at Jasper. He hadn't said a word since she had come back down from the attic. His hands were clasped on the table, and he was staring down at them. His only acknowledgement of Andy when she had come down had been a slight head nod in her direction.

Andy turned away from Jasper to look at Chiron. "She . .. she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it," Grover said. He was grinning widely.

Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?" he prompted.

Andy didn't say anything. How could she say she would fail to save what mattered most in the end? And which friend would betray her? She almost shuddered to think about one of her friends betraying her. She had so few as it was. Jasper must have read Andy's feelings, because he reached over and took one o her hands. Andy rested her cheek in the other hand, and smiled over at him.

"No," Andy said. "That was pretty much it."

"If you're sure," Chiron said carefully. "But be forewarned, the Oracle's words often have double meanings."

"Right," Andy sighed. "So tomorrow morning Jasper, me, and someone else will all set out to go to the Underworld and find this Master Bolt, right?"

"That's about it, sugar," Jasper said, speaking finally. "Who're you going to choose?"

Andy instantly turned to face Grover. He swallowed a piece of his Diet Coke can.

"Have I mentioned Maine is very nice this time of year?" Grover asked shakily.

"You don't have to go," Andy said. She knew how much she was asking of him.

"No," Grover said. "It's just...satyrs and underground places...well..." Grover sat up straighter. "If you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down, Andy."

"Thanks, G-man," Andy grinned. Already, she was feeling a little better about this quest. She would have her best friend and her mate with her. Maybe she could even save her mom. The Oracle's last words rang loudly in her mind.

 _You shall fail to save what matters most, in the end._

* * *

Jasper was lost in memories. Memories of another time, another war. As he sat waiting for Andy to come back down, Jasper could almost feel the pain. He could feel the knife, carving its way across his chest and back. He could feel the whip as it cracked across his back. He could feel the heat of the fire as they burned his very flesh from his bones.

Jasper was brought out of his memories by his phone. Jasper recognized the vibration pattern. Alice was calling.

"Excuse me," he said to Chiron and Grover. Mr D had long since left. Chiron nodded, and Grover wouldn't look up at Jasper from his Diet Coke can. Jasper flipped open his phone and put it to his ear as he walked away from the table.

"Hey, Ali," he said softly into the device.

 _Hello, Jazz,_ Alice's energetic voice chirped back. Jasper had to smile at hearing his favorite sister's voice. _Congrats on finding your mate! You'll have to bring her by the house soon so we can meet her!_

"I'm not bringing her to Alaska, Alice," Jasper sighed. "It would be too dangerous for her there. You know that."

 _Fine,_ Alice sighed. _Then, we'll all come down to meet her._

"In a few weeks," Jasper said. "There's a quest. Andy's leading it."

 _I know_ , Alice sighed. _I also know about her prophecy. Watch out for Luke, Jazzy._

"Castellan?" Jasper asked. "Why?"

 _Can't say,_ Alice sighed. _In my vision there's this pit. And then in the other one, he's going off with Andy into the woods by themselves. Something's not right, Jazz. Keep an eye on him._

"I will, Ali," Jasper sighed. "I have to go. Andy will be done with the Oracle soon. I'll see you in a few weeks."

 _Bye, Jazz,_ Alice said before hanging up.

Jasper walked in a stony silence back to the table. Chiron looked at him worriedly, but Jasper just shook his head. The vampire, centaur, and satyr all sat in silence until the demigod came back down to join them.


	7. Chapter 7

**I am ridiculously sorry about the long wait. I was on vacation, and yeah. Didn't have my laptop to update. Anyway, the quest to find the Master Bolt is finally underway.**

 **Reviews:**

 **NicoleR85: Thanks, and really, really sorry about the wait.**

 **ChipDaCookie: Thanks a bunch, really sorry about the wait.**

 **ladyoutlaw1234: Thanks so much, and once again, sorry about the wait.**

 **Guest from chapter 4: Thank you! :)**

 **brantleyh936: Thanks! I think I'm going to have Edward, and Rosalie a little, not outright dislike Andy, but not really trust her at the beginning. Jasper will definitely be pissed about it.**

* * *

Andy stood with Jasper and Grover on the top of Half-Blood Hill at sunrise, just like they had planned. Jasper, for a vampire that didn't require sleep, looked extremely tired. Andy held tightly to his hand as they stared over Half-Blood hill into the mortal world. It was odd for Andy, seeing the mortal world after so long spent in Camp Half-Blood. It seemed almost surreal, as if it shouldn't exist.

In the hand that wasn't holding Andy's, Jasper was clutching tightly to a baseball cap, a gift from his mother. Resting in a sheath wrapped around his thigh was a knife from before he had been turned into a vampire. Jasper had assured Andy multiple times the Mist would hide it from mortals.

Grover stood on the other side of Andy, fidgeting nervously. His hooves were hidden in fake feet, and on his back was a pack filled with apples, tin cans, and his panpipes. Andy had heard him play them, and she sincerely hoped she never had to again, not that she would tell him that.

Chiron was sitting in his wheelchair on top of the hill with Argus, the camp's security.

"Are you ready?" Chiron asked.

"As we'll ever be," Jasper joked. He got down on his knees in front of Chiron and pulled him into a hug. He had seen the centaur as his father figure ever since he first came to Camp Half-Blood.

Andy didn't say anything. She was terrified. She didn't have a weapon. She had talked to Luke about it the evening before, but he had said not to worry.

Pounding footsteps came up the hill. Everyone turned to see Luke Castellan himself come running up the hill, a pair of basketball shoes in hand. Andy noticed Jasper tense and come to stand behind her. He rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Hey!" Luke panted. "Glad I caught you."

He held out the basketball shoes to Andy, who took them gingerly in her own hands. Jasper scowled heavily at the shoes and glared at Luke.

"Oh, lighten up," Luke said jokingly. "They'll help, I hope." He paused to grin at Andy before barking, "Maia!"

Andy jumped and nearly dropped the shoes when fluttering wings burst out of them. Jasper's grip on her shoulder tightened slightly. Andy could practically feel the nerves seeping out of his hand into her arm. Grover didn't seem to notice Jasper's tenseness.

"Awesome!" he said eagerly. Andy nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Luke grinned. "Gift from my dad. Just say Maia to take out and put away the wings." On cue, the wings disappeared back into the shoes.

"Thanks, Luke," Andy said.

Luke nodded at her. "Well, good luck." With one last smile and a nod to Jasper, Luke disappeared back over the hill.

Andy looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"

"I'm afraid not," Chiron sighed, shaking his head. "It would be too dangerous for you."

Andy sighed and looked at the shoes in her hands. She turned to Grover and handed them to him.

"Here," she said. "They'll be far more useful with you."

"You mean it?" Grover asked. "My own magical item?"

"Yeah, G-Man," Andy said, a grin falling easily into place on her lips.

"Thanks, Andy," Grover grinned, bending down to replace his worn converse with the flying shoes.

"Maia!" Jasper said lazily once Grover had stood up. He smirked in amusement as the world's first flying goat-boy went careening down the hill towards the van. Jasper and Andy went to follow the flying satyr, but Chiron stopped them both with a hand on Andy's arm.

"I should have trained you better, Andy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason-they all got more training."

"I'll keep her safe, Chiron," Jasper said. He rubbed his hand up and down Andy's arm. "I'd die before I saw anything happen to her."

Chiron smiled a half smile. "I know that, Jasper." He turned back to Andy and gave her a reassuring smile before his face seemed to freeze. "What am I thinking? I can't let you get away without this!"

Chiron pulled a pen from his pocket and placed it reverently into Andy's own. Andy stared down at it before looking to Jasper, whose eyes were wide in shock.

"Anaklusmos," he whispered. He took a pale finger and ran it along the pen. "I've never seen it in this form."

"Ah yes," Chiron said. "I believe it took the form of a hair pin up until around the 1950's when ballpoint pens really started showing up."

"I think I'm missing something," Andy grumbled, staring down at the pen. Jasper let out a hearty laugh.

"Uncap it, sugar," he laughed.

Andy did as told, and a long bronze sword took form in her hand.

"A gift from your father," Chiron said. "Deadly on monsters and demigods, but won't harm a mortal."

"Thanks," Andy said genuinely. She stared at the sword in awe as she pressed the cap to the tip and it became a pen again. "A lot."

"We should leave," Jasper said. He was looking up at the sun in the sky. "It's getting late."

"Good luck," Chiron called after Andy and Jasper as they made their way down the hill.

* * *

The ride into Manhattan was mostly silent. Andy found herself staring at mostly everything as they passed it all by. Camp had been so different from the mortal world. She found herself making idle chatter with Grover in the back of the van. Jasper was sat up front with Argus, staring out the window.

Jasper had been acting off since yesterday when she had come back down from the Oracle. Andy couldn't help but wonder what had happened, or what had been said, to make Jasper seem so closed off. He had hardly spoken any words to her since yesterday.

* * *

Jasper seemed to cheer up once they reached the bus terminal. He smiled at Andy and even agreed to play hacky sack with her and Grover. That went real well until Grover ate the apple they were playing with. He tried to apologize, but Andy and Jasper were far too busy laughing. Luckily, by that time, their bus had come.

* * *

Andy was sitting next to the window, Jasper sitting protectively in the aisle seat next to her. He was tense and glaring at something up ahead.

"What is it?" Andy asked, resting her hand on Jasper's shoulder.

The vampire visibly relaxed at the soothing hand of his mate. "Furies." Jasper nodded his head in the direction of three old ladies. "I can smell them."

Andy precautiously leaned over Jasper's lap to peak around the seat. She froze when she saw who, exactly, was sitting in the front of the bus.

"That's Mrs. Dodds," she mumbled. She found herself fisting her hands in Jasper's T-shirt. "But I killed her."

"Sometimes monsters don't stay dead for long," Jasper replied. He gently pushed Andy back against the window. "I can't take care of them in front of so many mortals."

"Is there an escape route?" Grover was peeking his head over the seat, obviously having listened in on their conversation.

"The windows don't open and there's no back exit." Jasper was calm as he mentally worked out all the escape routes. "No roof exit. The only way out is through the door at the front. Awful design if there was an accident and the bus flipped over."

Andy felt the fear rising up in her, but Jasper was right next to her, sending her calming waves. Jasper was completely still as a plan formulated in his mind. Andy looked past the seat again. Mrs. Dodds and her two sisters were moving forwards.

"Right," he said, already in motion before he even started speaking. "Andy, take my hat. Sneak to the front of the bus. Grover and I will distract the furies."

Before Andy could protest, Jasper was shoving his baseball cap down over her head and pushing her out of the seat. He nudged her back, and she started to move forwards, invisible to all. Andy squeezed her gut in as the furies passed her. She knew it wouldn't do much, but she couldn't help herself. She kept walking to the front of the bus before looking back.

A fury had leapt up onto Jasper's back. _No_ , Andy thought to herself. _Jasper._ He was struggling to get the thing off his back, not able to reach back to get the thing off of himself. In a split-second decision, Andy reached out and grabbed onto the steering wheel. She was able to jerk it just enough for Jasper to manage to throw the fury off of himself. Andy watched in awe as he grabbed the things neck and snapped it, watching the monster crumble to dust in his hands.

There were still two more furies. Andy reached out and took hold of the steering wheel again. She jerked it to the right, and the bus went careening off the road, right into a tree. Andy fell back into the driver's seat as the man opened the door and ushered all the passengers off the bus. In the back, Jasper and Grover finished off the last two furies and met her at the front of the bus. Jasper reached out and pulled the hat off Andy. He grabbed his arms and scanned his eyes up and down her body before pulling her into his chest.

"Let's go," he grunted. He took Andy's hand and started dragging her off the bus, Grover right behind them.

"The mortals," Grover said to Jasper. "They've noticed something."

Jasper turned to face the mortals and snapped his fingers. "You never saw any of us. The bus' tires lost traction on the slippery road, and it crashed. You're going to all call for help now."

"What was that?" Andy asked, staring at the dazed looks on all the mortals' faces.

"The Mist," Jasper said. "We need to go, like yesterday." He grabbed Grover's arm and Andy's hand, pulling them off into the woods.


	8. Chapter 8

**So yeah, really long update. I'm hoping to make most of my updates around this length from now on, so yeah. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ladyoutlaw1234: Thanks so much. Yes, I will be doing the entire series of PJO and HOO, but I'm not sure if I probably won't be doing the entire Twilight series. Bella is still going to be in the Twilight series, so Andy won't be taking her place. Since Edward is with Alice, Bella will not be getting married to a vampire or having a half-vampire child, so yeah.**

 **NicoleR85: Thank you so much!**

 **brantleyh936: That will not happen exactly, but something similar will definitely show up in the beginning of the next chapter.**

 **HyperGuest: Thanks a lot! Some things will obviously have to change because a vampire is obviously going to change canon things. I will try my best to stick to the story line, though. I hope you like the change I added in the very beginning of this chapter.**

 **BubbleFlipper: Your review made me go :D**

* * *

Andy, Jasper, and Grover didn't stop walking until they reached a building. "Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," according to Grover. Jasper may have been a vampire, but that didn't take away his dyslexia. Andy wondered how much that pissed Jasper off while he was in school. He knew the information, but couldn't read the question. That would certainly piss Andy off.

"Think there's any food in there?" Andy asked, looking at the sign that promised a food bar longingly. She was so hungry.

"Yes," Jasper said. "I can smell it, but I don't recommend going in."

"Why not?" Andy demanded grumpily. She was hungry, and she _always_ got cranky when she was hungry.

Jasper seemed to have realized this because he took no offense to Andy's slight attitude.

"There's a monster in there," Jasper replied. "Medusa, if I'm not mistaken. I'm rather thirsty. I'll go in and feed, and I'll bring you both back some food, if you both don't mind."

Grover looked a little grossed out, but Andy didn't mind. Frankly, she didn't care for much of anything. She just wanted food, and to avoid as many monsters as possible, but mainly food.

"Hurry up," she pleaded, rubbing her stomach. "I'm hungry."

"I'll be back before you know it."

Grover and Andy didn't have time to process what Jasper had said before he was gone. He had moved so fast, neither of the two had even seen him move. It only took Jasper a couple minutes to go in, drink his fill of the monster, and come back out with a wrapped burger and three things of fries. He threw the burger to Andy, and gave all of the fries to Grover.

"Figured you wouldn't want any meat," Jasper said in way of explanation at Grover's astonished look.

"Thanks, Major," Grover managed to choke out, a heavy blush coating his cheeks.

"Just Jasper is fine, Grover," Jasper said, chuckling slightly. "We're all friends here."

"If you're sure, Jasper." Grover seemed to have a little bit of trouble managing to get out Jasper's name, and the vampire's amusement increased.

* * *

Andy fell asleep curled up against Jasper's side. She was comfiest there, she found. Even though Jasper was rock solid and freezing cold, For the first time since her mother married Gabe, Andy felt safe.

When she woke up the next morning, Andy was warm. She tried to snuggle into her personal icebox, but he wasn't there. Andy opened her green eyes, looking around. Jasper wasn't next to her anymore, and Grover was no longer in the tree overhead. The two boys were standing on opposite sides of the clearing, Jasper with his arms crossed and Grover with a ball of pink fluff in his arms. Jasper was glaring heatedly at the ball of fluff.

Andy stood up, looking back and forth between the two guys. "What's going on?"

"Andy!" Grover said cheerfully. "You're awake! I'd like you to meet Gladiola."

A head suddenly peeked out from the ball of fluff. An honest to gods pink poodle.

"Hello?" Andy said to the poodle, more a question than anything else. She turned to face Jasper on the other side of the clearing. "Why are you all the way over there, Jasper?" She didn't shout. Vampires had excellent hearing, after all.

"Animals have a healthy fear of my kind," Jasper explained, his voice raised just enough for Andy to hear him perfectly. "The poodle was more comfortable with me a distance away."

Andy nodded. "Fair enough." She looked back at Grover and his poodle. "Why, exactly, do you have a poodle?"

"I came across Gladiola in the woods," Grover explained. He was constantly running his hand through the bright pink, dyed fur. "He ran away from a rich family. They've posted a $200 reward for anyone who finds him."

"And Gladiola knows about this how?" Andy couldn't help but ask. She could hear Jasper groan overdramatically from across the clearing.

"He read the signs, duh," Grover said. An impish smile crossed his face.

* * *

Between the $200 reward, and a little extra money from Jasper's wallet, the three of them were able to buy three tickets all the way to Los Angeles. Andy and Grover had both protested heavily at the use of Jasper's money, but Jasper had insisted it was for a good cause. The satyr and demigoddess had reluctantly agreed. And so, Andy, Jasper and Grover found themselves on a four day bus route with two stops; one stop was in St. Louis, and the other in Denver.

The first two days were fairly uneventful. Andy was able to sit peacefully and watch the countryside, Jasper sitting beside her and Grover across the aisle. The only country Andy had ever seen was Camp Half-Blood and Montauk, if Montauk really counted. She couldn't get enough of it.

"Enjoying yourself, 'Drea?" Jasper asked, leaning over her shoulder ever so slightly so as not to make her uncomfortable.

"It's so beautiful," Andy sighed, just managing to hold her blush down at the nickname. Judging by Jasper's chuckle, he had felt her embarrassment. "I'm so used to the city. I just can't get enough of all the green."

"It's a sight, alright," Jasper agreed. "You'd love where my family lives, up in Alaska. In the summer, everything is gorgeous. I must say, though, I'm not a fan of all the snow. A little snow every now and then is okay, but Alaska's a little much."

Andy snorted. "New York gets its fair share of snow," Andy agreed. She paused for a moment. "Hey, Jasper..." Andy broke off, trying to think of the right words to say. "Do you think there's any chance of getting my mom back?"

Jasper was silent for a few moments. "I don't want to get your hopes up," he started. Andy could feel her stomach drop. "You can't barter with Hades, sugar. I'm sorry. There is the off chance, though, that your mom might not be dead."

"You don't think she's dead?" Andy asked. Her heart had soared through the roof, and for the first time in the several hours they had been in motion, she looked away from the window. "There is a chance!"

"I didn't say that." Jasper chewed his tongue thoughtfully. Andy wondered if it was a human habit he never got rid of. "There is a slight chance, though. Like I said, don't get your hopes up." There was another moment of silence before, "Will you stay with your stepfather if you can't get your mom back?"

Andy froze, horror and dread filling her. "I'll stay at camp, I guess. I won't go back to him. I can't."

Before Andy had even started speaking, Jasper had curled an arm protectively around her and pulled her into his side, sending out soothing waves. "He hurts you."

It wasn't a question. "Since he moved in with us," Andy said. There was no use lying. "My mom never knew." Andy could feel Jasper's growl reverberate through her body.

"You most definitely will not _ever_ be going back to live with him," Jasper growled out. Andy felt her body shiver with the amount of rage Jasper was exuding. "If we are able to get your mother back, I will personally pay for a house for the two of you near me where I can keep you safe. If not, then you will be joining me in my home with the Cullens."

Andy didn't think she had ever heard Jasper so serious. "You wouldn't need to do that, Jasper," she said. She couldn't ask him to do that for her. "I'll figure something out."

Jasper pulled back from Andy, aghast. "Andy," he pleaded. "Don't be like that. I _want_ to help you."

"I don't think your family would appreciate having to care for a twelve year-old girl," Andy retorted. "I'm just extra baggage. I'll be fine in Camp Half-Blood."

"My family will love you," Jasper argued. "Alice is already begging to come meet you. Esme, Carlisle, and Emmett will adore you too."

"What about Rosalie and Edward." This was too much to hope for. Andy couldn't ask for this.

"Rosalie is a little cold towards everyone at first, but, trust me, she'll love you. And Edward's always concerned about the family's safety. Once he realizes you're not a threat, it'll be fine."

Andy bit her lip anxiously. "Did you really mean it?" She couldn't help herself.

"Course I did, sugar."

Andy couldn't help but smile even as she turned to face back out the window. She would always have a home, it seemed.

* * *

"You've really never been here?" Grover asked Jasper once they had gotten into the elevator in the Gateway Arch. Jasper had insisted as he'd never been.

"No," Jasper said. "Never had the chance. Was a bit busy with the wars and all. Once I got out, I was stuck going to high school over and over again."

They were talking in hushed whispers so as not to alert the older woman next to them about their not so human status. As it was, her chihuahua was growling ferociously at Jasper. Jasper and Grover both were looking a little tense Andy noted.

"Do you smell something?" she asked.

"Underground," Grover snorted. He switched his weight back and forth anxiously. "Always smells like monsters." Jasper nodded his agreement.

It felt like forever for the elevator to reach the top and for the doors to open. As soon as they were, Jasper rushed over to the windows to stare down at the Mississippi below them in pure amazement. It filled Andy with glee to see the hardened vampire soldier filled with so much joy. It was quite the sight. She walked up to Jasper and took his hand. He squeezed lightly.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" he asked. Andy nodded. "All the structure supports. Everything. I always wanted to design something like this. Something to last through the ages."

"So why don't you?" Andy asked.

Jasper frowned. He looked almost childlike in that one instant before hardening again. "Being a vampire kind of put a damper on that," Jasper sighed. "We can't really make ourselves too well known. We wouldn't want the chance of someone recognizing us years after we were supposed to have been dead, still the same age. It's against our laws to let mortals know of our existence. Hades, most vampires don't even know demigods exist."

"Which one's do?" Andy asked. "Beside your family, obviously."

Jasper smiled slightly. "Peter and Charlotte, They were in the vampire wars with me. Turned out Peter was actually a son of Athena. He knew me through the legends. Really is my brother, the bastard." Jasper snorted. "Our neighboring coven, the Denali, know about demigods, only because of how much time we spend with them. The Volturi are the only other ones I know of. They're the vampire rulers. They have two vampires, turned young, Alec and Jane. They're nicknamed the Witch Twins, and for a good reason. Children of Hecate."

"Are you friends with them?" Andy asked.

Jasper snorted again. "We have a healthy respect for each other, the kings and I. I don't mess with them. They don't mess with me. I am rather friendly with Alec and Jane and two other guards, Demetri and Felix."

"That's nice."

Andy and Jasper fell into a companionable silence. They stood together, staring out the window, holding hands. Andy found herself wishing that moment could last forever. That she wouldn't need to worry about her mom, Gabe, the quest. She wished for just this moment, just her and Jasper.

Their silence was interrupted by one of the guards saying time was up. They both filed to the elevator with the rest of the guests. Grover climbed in first with a young couple, and Jasper got in after him, still holding Andy's hand.

"Four to an elevator," the guard said in a bored voice.

"I'll get out, then," Jasper said.

He was about to step out when the door slammed shut, leaving Andy by herself. She had just been able to make out the look of pure terror on Jasper's face when the doors slammed shut. She turned just in time to see the lady they had ridden up with start to morph, along with her chihuahua. It was no longer a chihuahua. No, it was the Chimera.

"The daughter of Poseidon," the woman sneered at Andy. She was now a fully-fledged monster. "How wonderful. And it looks like your little vampire isn't here to protect you anymore."

Andy froze for only a moment. After that, it only took her a second to pull out Riptide and remove the cap. She shoved it in her pocket for safe-keeping.

"Who are you?" Andy demanded, holding her sword aloft, her feet spread exactly how Jasper had shown her.

"I am Echidna," the monster boasted. "Mother of all monsters. It isn't often Zeus lets me out to play with demigods."

Andy didn't have time to answer. The Chimera had lunged at her. She dodged.

Dodge. Parry the tail. Strike against the flank. Repeat. Duck. Jab towards the mouth. Dodge. Repeat.

It was an endless cycle, and Andy found herself caught up in it with no means of escape. She could feel Echidna's eyes watching her every move. When she caught a peek at the monster through her peripheral vision, Andy could see only amusement.

 _At least,_ Andy thought, _I'm holding my own. If it weren't for Jasper's training, I'd be doing much worse._

Truer words could not be spoken. Andy was hardly managing the fight by herself. She took one misstep, and it was her downfall. The viper tail lunged at her and bit into her ankle. Andy stumbled back, and the Chimera took the opportunity to lunge at her and send her flying through the glass windows.

* * *

Andy landed in the Mississippi River without much of a splash. She had just sort of... sunk through the water. She floated gently to the bottom, sword still in hand, and looked around. Everything was exactly how she had expected it to look except _one_ thing.

A little distance away, a woman who looked remarkably like Sally Jackson, Andy's mother, was floating, smiling serenely at the young demigoddess.

"Hello, Andrea," the woman said.

"Mom?" Andy asked, even though her mother had never called her by her full name unless she was extremely mad.

"No," the woman said. She smiled sympathetically. "Your father sent me. He wishes for you to go to Santa Monica. Can you do that?"

"Santa Monica?" Andy repeated. "Why?"

"Please," the woman pleaded. "I cannot stay long. Will you go to Santa Monica?"

By the time Andy said yes, the woman had already dissolved into the water.


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, so the chapters just keep getting longer and longer, though I'm sure you all aren't complaining. I really hope you enjoy this one.**

 **Reviews:**

 **NicoleR85: Thanks so much!**

 **brantleyh936: Thanks a lot. That's really sweet. I do try my best to come up with original story ideas. Your welcome for the shout outs btw. Hope you like the meeting with the vampire.**

 **ChipDaCookie: Thank you! I try to make it detailed, but at the same time I don't want to copy the book word-for-word, so I'm making it a little different.**

 **Anna: Thanks!**

* * *

There was a short woman standing on the banks of the river when Andy climbed out. The woman was no taller than Andy herself. She had long, black hair and pale skin. Her eyes were a deep red that was slowly turning black around the edges. The woman smiled cruelly at Andy, her sharp fangs glistening in the fading light. A faint sparkle that Andy had never seen on Jasper's skin shined across this vampire's alabaster paleness.

"Who are you?" Andy managed to stammer out, taking a step away from the certain death she was facing. She knew better than to run. That would just quicken her death.

"Interesting," the vampiress purred, taking a step toward Andy. Andy quivered in her spot, but held her ground. "You know of what I am. How...curious." The woman's head tilted. "I am Maria, girl."

Andy's eyes widened in recognition. Maria. The name stood out to Andy like a beacon. Jasper's sire.

"You recognize me," Maria sneered. She moved, too fast for Andy's eyes. "You smell of my major, human." Andy flinched when she realized the vampire was directly behind her, sniffing at her neck.

"Jasper's not yours," Andy bit out. Just this vampire speaking a claim on Jasper, Andy's mate, made her blood boil. "He belongs to no one."

"You call him by his name," Maria said. She walked slowly, even for a human, to stand in front of Andy. Glee filled her eyes when she saw the look of determination across Andy's face. "You care for him!" A gleeful tinkle of a laugh escaped Maria's lips. "Silly human, you do not belong in our world. You will regret ever coming in contact with my major."

A reverberating growl filled the air around them. Andy snapped her head to the left and sighed in relief. There was Jasper, her mate. His eyes were black, and he was crouched down, but Andy felt no fear. Safety filled her every nerve. In Maria's shock, Andy slipped away and ran to stand behind her Major. Jasper stood slowly, one arm winding back to wrap around Andy's waist. He pulled her tightly against his back, but not so hard as to hurt her. Andy rested her palms against Jasper's cotton T-shirt and peeked out from between where his arm and body were separated.

Maria was staring in fear at Jasper. Andy couldn't see his face, but she knew it must be terrifying. She could feel the anger and rage rolling off Jasper in waves. It was enough to cause the most fearsome vampire, or a god, to quiver in their boots. Andy wondered if a god had ever been scared of Jasper as Maria was.

"You should leave," Jasper snarled, his voice ripping through Maria like a needle through thin cotton. "I will not hesitate to rip your head off, Maria."

"Now, Major, don't be like that." Though Maria stood tall, even Andy could hear the violent tremble in her voice.

"Leave," Jasper growled.

Maria's eyes narrowed. "You will regret leaving me, Major. One day." Maria's pitch-black eyes went to Andy's face. "And you'll regret replacing me with that drowned rat of a human you call your mate, too."

Jasper didn't have a chance to reply as Maria sped off. He whipped around to face Andy and inspected her for injuries. At seeing none, Jasper's let out a relieved grunt. His eyes were already slowly returned back to a mix between honey and amber as he pulled Andy against him.

"I was worried," he mumbled into Andy's hair.

"I'm fine," she whispered back. "Where's Grover."

"The train station. I ran him there and then raced over here to look for you. You should have been my first priority. I'm sorry, sugar."

"I forgive you," Andy said. "We should probably get back, though. Grover will be worrying."

Jasper didn't take any more prompting. In the matter of an instant, he had picked up Andy and started running. Andy had her legs wrapped around his waist and her head in his neck. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't have looked around. The speed at which Jasper was running didn't even allow her to lift her head.

The wind rushing around them stopped as soon as it started. Before Andy could process that they were at a standstill, Jasper was putting her down. She teetered slightly on her feet, and Jasper had to catch her arm.

"Never do that without warning me again," Andy groaned, clutching her stomach. "I did not enjoy that."

"Sorry," Jasper said, face scrunching up, ever so slightly. "I forgot how uncomfortable that would be for a human. We're here, though."

Andy looked around her and at the train in front of them. Still clutching her stomach, Andy clambered onto the train.

* * *

"Put your heads down," Jasper snarled under his breath as a man walked in, the bell on the door jingling. "Now!"

Grover slouched slightly in his seat, and Andy leaned back against the wall, her menu up slightly to cover her mouth and the tip of her nose. Jasper himself had bent his head over and was perusing the menu, staring at the names of food he would never eat. It didn't seem to help. The man came right over to them and sat next to Grover, squishing the satyr against the wall.

"Major," the man greeted Jasper.

"You should leave," Jasper replied. "You're not welcomed here."

"You say it like I care," the man said, sneering. His eyes turned to Andy. "I'd heard rumors old Seaweed's kid was your's, but I didn't think it was true."

"It is," Jasper said. "You can leave."

Andy couldn't help herself as she compared Jasper and this new man. They were similar, yet different. While Jasper held himself erect, straight-backed, the other man was slouched, his arm over the back of the chair. The man was dressed as though he was ready to hop on his motorcycle and drive over to the nearest bar, where as Jasper was dressed in a nice pair of jeans, slightly filthy from the journey, and a camp T-shirt.

They both held an air about them, though. Andy could easily see the weight they carried on their backs. Jasper and this man were both soldiers, through and through.

"So what do you say?" the man asked, turning to Andy.

"Huh?" Andy was startled from her musing by Jasper squeezing her hand.

"Lord Ares, here, wants us to go fetch his shield from an old water park," Jasper explained. "I told him we don't have time."

"I want to hear your opinion, girly," Ares said.

Andy turned to frown at him. Ares. As in the god Ares? Yes, this man held an aura about him, the same one Mr. D had. And what of his shield? Did they have time to go on random errands for gods? No, they most definitely did not.

"We really don't have the time, Lord Ares," Andy said as politely as she could, and wasn't that so not her.

"You sure?" Ares had lowered his sunglasses. He didn't have eyes, at least not the traditional kind. In his black sockets, miniature fires glowed. Just by looking into the god's eyes, Andy could feel rage boiling up inside of herself. Even Jasper's gift wasn't enough to calm her.

"Positive," Andy snapped at the god. "If you'll excuse us, we have a train to catch."

Jasper had already slipped from the booth by the time Andy had dropped her menu. She slipped out after him and stared at Ares, waiting for him to move and let Grover out.

Ares took his sweet time standing. As soon as he was out, Grover had jumped up and moved to stand with their small group. Ares smiled down at them, towering over even Jasper's 6'3". He held his hand out, and a small backpack appeared, hanging from his fingers.

"Take this, at least," Ares said. "My gift to you."

Andy wanted to argue, wanted to so bad, but, at the same time, she wanted to get away from Ares. As far away as possible.

"Fine."

Andy took the bag and turned on her heel. She walked out the door and didn't stop until she was back at the train station. She was so frustrated, and she couldn't even explain it. Ares had just made her so angry!

"I wouldn't trust his gift if I were you," Jasper warned as he sat down in his seat next to Andy.

"Why?"

Jasper frowned, his brow furrowing. "Ares can't be trusted. He is war personified, Andrea. He will always want the way that leads to the most bloodshed."

"And you know this how?" Andy asked, rolling her eyes. She couldn't help herself. The anger just wouldn't fade away.

"Over a hundred-fifty years, Andrea. That's how long I've been alive. I've fought in wars in both the mortal and immortal worlds. I know war. Ares is not to be trusted."

Andy could feel herself deflating. She didn't know if it was Jasper's use of her full name or his gift. Maybe it was just being away from Ares.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. She reached out and squeezed Jasper's hand. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"That's all I ask," Jasper said.

* * *

"Santa Monica, you said?" Grover asked as they all stood on the beach together.

"Yeah," Andy said. "She practically begged me to come see her in Santa Monica." Andy looked out at the ocean. It was blue here, where the Atlantic Ocean was green. "You think she meant actually in the water?"

"Of course," Jasper said. "Nereids can't come on dry land. You'll need to go to her."

Andy nodded her head determinedly and began walking forward. She paused for a moment at the water's edge, small waves coming up to lap at her ankles. She looked back at Jasper and Grover for a long moment before continuing to walk into the surf. She didn't look back again.

Jasper kept his eyes on the water even as Andy disappeared beneath the waves. He couldn't see or smell his mate, and it made him worry. He knew he was being irrational, nothing in the ocean would harm Andy, especially since she had Anaklusmos, but he couldn't help himself.

"You okay, Jasper?" Grover asked him. The satyr still stammered slightly when saying his name.

"Fine," Jasper grunted roughly. Grover flinched back, and Jasper could feel the fear pouring off of him. Jasper reached out a gripped Grover's shoulder lightly, letting his gift calm the satyr. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just worried."

"But nothing will happen to her, right?" Grover looked extremely worried as he looked out over the ocean. Jasper smiled to himself. Andy had found herself a good friend in the satyr.

"I doubt it," Jasper answered. "It's very unlikely. I just worry a lot."

"Yeah," Grover agreed.

The vampire and satyr stared out in silence across the horizon for the rest of the time it took Andy to come back above the waves, which wasn't very long.

Andy was completely dry as she ran up to where Jasper and Grover were standing together. Both males looked at her expectantly as she held her hand out and opened it. Three little pearls rested in her open palm.

"I'm confused," Jasper said, staring down at the pearls in Andy's hand. It looked as though saying the simple sentence had pained him. "They're just pearls."

"She said that if you crush it, it'll give you your greatest need," Andy explained, delicately tucking the pearls into the front pocket of the backpack Ares had given them. "So, where exactly is the Underworld? I mean, how do we get there?"

"DOA Recording Studios in Hollywood," Jasper replied. "I went there once."

"Why would you want to go to the Underworld?" Grover asked curiously even as they started moving across the beach to a bus station. "It's got to be really creepy down there?"

"Better than living the life of a monster throughout eternity," Jasper answered darkly, looking straight ahead at the bus coming towards the stop.

Andy reached forward and squeezed Jasper's hand. "Do you still believe you're a monster?" she asked quietly.

"Not for a long time," Jasper said. He squeezed Andy's hand back as the bus pulled up in front of them.

* * *

"There are people following us," Grover whispered to Andy and Jasper as they walked down the street.

"Just stay relaxed," Jasper replied quietly. "We'll be there in a couple minutes." As he spoke, Jasper pushed Andy slightly in front of himself.

Andy could hear the footsteps behind them. They were starting to speed up. Andy squeaked as a group of teenage boys jumped out of the alley right in front of her. Behind her, Jasper snarled and pulled her body against him. The group of boys behind them came around until Andy, Jasper, and Grover were ensconced in a ever-enclosing circle. The boy directly in front of Grover, obviously the leader from the way he held himself, pulled a knife from his belt and held it threateningly in front of himself.

The teenger started to open his mouth to speak, but Jasper was too quick for him. He had grabbed the kid's arm and twisted it behind his back, wrapping his own arm around the kid's neck in a chokehold.

"I suggest you drop your knife now," Jasper growled, his eyes a deep black. "Because you really don't want to see me when I'm angry, boy."

Jasper must have been pumping fear out, because the boy was shaking. All the other kids around them, five that Andy could see, were quivering and slowly backing away. The leader's knife clattered to the ground.

"Now run away," Jasper ordered.

The boy and his gang didn't take telling twice. As soon as Jasper let go, they high-tailed it out of there. Jasper didn't pay them any mind, picking the knife up and studying it. He shook his head and tossed it into the alley.

"It's two buildings down from here," he said, turning and beginning to walk.

Andy and Grover rushed to keep up with Jasper's long strides. The vampire didn't slow down until they were standing in front of DOA Recording Studios. Even then, Jasper only lingered for a minute before pushing the door open and stepping inside. He grinned morosely at the man sitting behind the desk in the back of the waiting room they had entered.

Andy couldn't keep her eyes off the spirits as she, Jasper, and Grover made their way across the room. They all looked so sad, unable to pay their ferry price, Grover explained. Andy wondered if she would ever end up in here. Would Jasper turn her before she had the chance to die?

"Major Whitlock," the man behind the desk greeted. Andy was shocked by the skeletal appearance of his face. "Come to beg me to take your soul to Hades again?" Andy couldn't help her shudder. Jasper had truly come here before to die.

"Charon," Jasper said in kind. "We require passage to the Underworld. I have the daughter of Poseidon with me. We must speak with Lord Hades."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Charon said, not looking sorry at all. He eyed Andy and Grover. "The living are not allowed to pass into the realm of the dead."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Jasper sighed. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and reached inside a little pouch, pulling out golden drachma. At least ten. Andy wondered how much they were really worth. "Are you sure you can't make an exception?"

"You're vampire charm doesn't work on me, Major," Charon said, though he was eyeing the drachma greedily. "If I say yes?"

"We'll be sure to ask Hades for a pay raise for you," Jasper promised.

"Very well."

Charon stood up and beckoned the three to follow him to the elevator behind his desk. He pressed a button and the door opened, revealing at least fifteen departed souls. Andy shuddered as she stepped inside. She couldn't keep her eyes off the little girl standing next to her. As Jasper stepped in, he pulled her close to him and gently pressed her face against his chest.

"You don't need to watch," he whispered to her.

The ride down to the Underworld was long and silent. Andy didn't look. She couldn't. She was too afraid of what she might see. The entire ride, Jasper was sending her soothing feelings. Andy felt it had been far too long by the time the ferry reached the end of its journey.

Andy finally looked around as she stepped off the boat. This was it, the Underworld.

Stretched out in front of her were impossibly long lines. She started to turn her head, but Jasper squeezed her shoulder tightly.

"Just keep looking ahead," he said as he started pulling her forwards. His eyes flickered to the left where Andy was about to look. "The Fields of Punishment are coming up on that side, and, trust me, you don't want to see them."

Andy took Jasper's word for it. She definitely didn't want to see anyone's eternal punishment. She was sure that could get pretty gruesome. Jasper led her and Grover through the lines with practiced ease. He only stopped when he reached Cerberus. The giant three-headed dog was snarling viciously at the three of them, drool dripping from his great yellow teeth. Jasper growled right back, ferociously, and Cerberus sat down in shock, staring wide-eyed at Jasper with red eyes.

As soon as the Cerberus sat, Jasper was pulling them along again, refusing to slow down. Out of the corner of her eye, Andy glimpsed the Fields of Punishment. She froze. They were horrendous. Just seeing the outskirts of them made her want to be sick. Jasper squeezed her hand and pulled her farther along.

"I told you not to look," he reprimanded softly.

"I didn't mean to," Andy muttered, feeling childish. Her stomach was still rolling with disgust. "I just kind of saw it out of the corner of my eye." Jasper squeezed Andy's hand sympathetically.

Jasper froze in the Fields of Asphodel. Grover's arm had been yanked right from his hand. He watched in awe for a short moment as the satyr was dragged across the ground by an invisible force, flailing. Andy was the first to move, chasing after the wayward satyr. Jasper followed at a quick jog, for a human. He was mentally trying to figure out what was happening before he helped. His stomach dropped as he saw exactly what was happening. Alice's warning about Luke suddenly made sense.

"Grover kick off the shoes!" Jasper shouted as he dashed forward towards the satyr. He grabbed Grover under his arms and held him back as the satyr kicked off the flying shoes Luke had given him. There wings fluttered in the air as the pair of shoes went flying over the edge of an abyss. Tartarus, Jasper realized.

"What's happening!" Andy demanded as she struggled with the backpack that was trying to fly off her back, probably into Tartarus with the shoes.

"Luke's a traitor," Jasper answered, grabbing the backpack and holding it tight to himself so it wouldn't fly off. "We need to get to Hades' Palace."

Andy took one last look at the abyss that was Tartarus before turning and running after Jasper and Grover.

* * *

 **In order to explain the way this chapter went:**

 **1) Jasper has met Ares in his past, and they didn't get along. I'm going to try and write a one!shot to explain that eventually. Anyway, Jasper understands they don't have a lot of time, and he really doesn't want to help Ares.**

 **2) Jasper's got a lot of money, and he most likely is carrying a credit card on him. He's going to charge the tickets to get them all the way to LA. It's common sense since they're in a rush.**

 **3) Since they have train tickets all the way to LA, they won't be stopping in the Lotus Hotel and Casino.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Super sorry about the delay! School is already kicking my ass. I put the Cullens in at the end of the chapter, though, to make up for the long wait.**

 **Reviews:**

 **brantleyh936: Sorry about the delay. Thanks so much for the review. I'm not really sure how I feel about OCs in this story because I want to keep it as close to cannon as I can get with only a few minor changes. I'll definitely consider your idea if I choose to put in an OC, though.**

 **ladyoutlaw1234: Andy has a little more action in this chapter, and she'll definitely get more and more action as she grows older. Right now, since she is so young and untrained, Jasper is kind of babying her until she truly gets the hang of things.**

 **NicoleR85: Thanks. I'm so so sorry about the delay.**

 **ChipDaCookie: Not a problem. Thanks for the review.**

 **Amelia Claw: Here's a new chapter!**

* * *

Andy was tense as they entered the Palace of Hades. The whole place screamed death, which, when she thought about it, made sense. The entire palace was made of stone cold obsidian. The walls towered up over Andy and her friends like giant, black walls of shadow. The mere thought sent shivers up and down Andy's spine. All around, at the entrances to hallways and even against bare strips of wall, skeletal soldiers stood guard. Skeletons of warriors from battles long past, some in Ancient Greek and Roman armor and others in modern camo, stood at attention, skeleton heads turning so empty eye sockets could watch the trio's progression.

Jasper managed to ignore all the soldiers' as they watched their progression through the silent halls. He didn't even bat an eye at the skeleton in a Texas cavalry uniform. Jasper couldn't help but wonder, as his eyes flicked over the uniform almost identical to his own, if he had known the man. Jasper turned away and continued following Grover and Andy.

Andy took the lead as they entered Hades' throne room. Grover stood to her right and slightly behind. Jasper was directly behind her. Hades sat in a throne of human bones in front of all of them. The god was huge, at least ten feet tall. He lounged back in his throne, staring down at Andy, Jasper, and Grover from over his aquiline nose. He was the first god, of the three she had met, that truly struck Andy as someone who was all-powerful.

"Andrea Jackson," Hades said, his eyes as hard and cold as the stone that surrounded them. "Are you brave or simply foolish to come down here to my realm after what you have done?" Hades' eyes left a silent Andy to look over her shoulder. "And Jasper Whitlock. I did not think I'd be seeing you here for a very long time. Would you endanger your mate by allowing her in my presence?"

Jasper's answering growl startled Andy out of her stupor. "You won't touch her," he snarled.

Hades' smirk settled into a sneer. "That remain to be seen." The god's eyes went back to Andy. "Why are you here, girl?"

The words sprang from Andy's lips unbidden, as if someone else was speaking through her. She automatically knew what she needed to say. "Lord Hades, Uncle, I come with two requests."

"Only two?" Hades asked with a raised eyebrow. "That is presumptuous after what you have done."

Andy felt the confusion rear up inside her. "I don't know what you think I did, my Lord, but I assure you I have meant no offense to you. A war is not the way to go about this."

"Ha!" Hades said. "You think I want a war, silly child! My kingdom is large enough as it is."

"But then why did you take Zeus' Master Bolt?" Grover asked, his voice quavering.

"Lies!" Hades shouted, rising from his throne. "I did no such thing! Zeus may be fooled by Poseidon's trickery, but I am not. I know he had his thieving daughter sneak onto Olympus on the Winter Solstice and steal my helm and my brother's bolt!"

"Your helm's missing?" Jasper asked suddenly, interrupting Hades.

Andy looked back at him and saw his brow furrowed, a frown turning the corners of his lips down. It was an expression Andy had come to call Jasper's 'thinking face'. His left hand was tapping against his thigh and his golden eyes, slightly dark since he hadn't fed in a few days, were darting back and forth, scanning the air in front of him as if he had all the facts printed out and posted on an invisible wall only Jasper could see. Andy knew the instant Jasper had everything figured out. His eyes lit up, and his from turned into a triumphant grin.

"Luke Castellan, son of Hermes, is your thief, my lord," Jasper said to Hades. "He was there during the Winter Solstice. He told me himself. He also has quite the hatred for the gods, a good reason to want to start a war between them."

Hades studied Jasper a moment with calculating eyes for a moment before nodding his head. "The boy was there. You will bring my helm back to me, Major Whitlock?"

"Of course, my lord," Jasper said, nodding his agreement. "We just have one request."

"State it," Hades demanded, sitting back down in his throne.

"Sally Jackson, alive and well."

Andy jumped when Jasper squeezed her hand comfortingly. SHe had been too busy focusing on Hades' face as he contemplated Jasper's request to notice him take hold of her hand. Hades seemed to be seriously considering the request, though, and Andy let her hopes soar. Maybe, just maybe, her mom could be brought back to life. She stared intently at her uncle as he opened his mouth to answer the question.

"I will grant your request," he said. Andy felt her insides jump. It was happening. "On one condition." Her stomach dropped. "My helm must be returned to me first. Once that is done, I shall return Sally Jackson to her apartment."

"Thank you, my lord," Andy said before Jasper could even open his mouth. "We will see your helm safely returned."

"I should hope." Hades arched his eyebrows at them. "I will assume you have a way out of my kingdom."

"Yes, Lord Hades," Jasper said.

He pulled the pearl Andy had given him back on the beach at Santa Monica out of his pocket, and put it on the floor in front of him. Andy and Grover followed suit. They all grabbed hands and stamped on the pearls. Bubbles seemed to emerge from the shattered pearls and surrounded Jasper, Andy, Grover. They could only stare at each other as they floated up and out of the palace of Hades and then through the rocky ceiling above them.

* * *

Andy helped Grover across the sand. Without his fake feet, his hooves were winking right through the beach. Jasper was a few feet ahead of them, glaring at an imposing man with giant muscles; Ares was waiting for them, leather jacket straining at the seams and baseball bat over his shoulder.

"You figured it out," the god said simply, absolutely no pleasantries. "I figured you would at least find the bolt before you figured out it was me."

Andy stepped forward, rage filling her body. She shoved Jasper's reaching hand away before he could pull her back. The demigoddess and god stood but two feet apart from each other. Andy had to crane her neck to look Ares in the eye, but she looked no less intimidating in her fury.

"You!" the word was shouted from Andy's lips with an incredible ferocity. "You conniving bastard! You were working with Luke."

The whole thing suddenly clicked in Andy's mind. She could picture everything clearly. Luke, running for his life with the bolt and helm. Ares catching up with him, demanding the bolt's return. Luke, with his quicksilver tongue, convincing Ares to help him start a war. Ares accepting the bolt and helm and hiding them. The whole scenario passed through Andy's mind in a second. Was this how Jasper felt when he was thinking?

"You gave it to us, didn't you?" Andy asked. "The bolt. It's in the bag, isn't it. But the helm isn't. You wouldn't have been stupid enough to give us the helm when we were going to the Underworld." Andy was on a roll. She could feel her confidence levels boosting to exponential levels. Jasper had to have been lending a helping hand. "You still have it. Where is it Ares?"

Ares smirked at Andy. "Smarter than they give you credit for, huh?" he asked. "How right you are. I helped Castellan. And I still have Hades' silly little helmet. You gonna take it from me, girly? 'Cause I don't think you have quite the skill for that."

"Don't talk to her that way!" Grover shouted at Ares.

The god ignored the satyr. He also ignored Jasper's added growling. He lifted his sunglasses, and his fiery eyes burned Andy's own. She blinked, but refused to cringe back. She would not show any nervousness to the god of war. Ares snapped his fingers, and Andy jumped back in shock. A large boar, with sharp tusks stained brown with crusted blood, appeared from mid air. Andy backed up into the surf as the boar started to charge her. She didn't even have time to summon her sword before Jasper was on top of the boar's limp body, creature drained dry. He looked up at Andy with his bright gold eyes. An understanding passed between the two mates.

Andy turned back towards Ares. "Fight me yourself," she said. "Or are you too much of a coward."

Ares' fire eyes turned cold, if that was at all possible. "You sure your little vampire pet ain't gonna jump in?"

"Positive." That was a lie. Jasper's instincts might take over. "Scared?"

"You want to die classic or modern?" Ares asked.

Andy popped the cap off Riptide in answer. Jasper and Grover had both already backed away. Andy was staying in the surf. In the surf, she had the advantage. Ares' smirk widened. The baseball bat on his shoulder shimmered once before turning into a Roman gladiator sword.

"Classic it is," he said before charging towards Andy.

There blades met in the middle. Andy strained to push against the god. The water was her element, but she was just a small girl against a god who'd had thousands of years of training. Did she really stand a chance? Ares pulled back and swung again. The water seemed to propel Andy upwards. She leapt over Andy, performing a somersault in midair, and landed on the other side of the god, outside of the surf.

Wet sand clung to Andy's sneakers, and she took a nervous sidestep, trying to get back to the surf. Ares was already there, blocking her path. He pressed forwards, and Andy was forced to move backwards, farther and farther away from the ocean. A quick glance to the side revealed Jasper standing stiff, his fists clenched and his body tense. A low growl was emanating from him. Grover stood next to him, clinging to the vampire's arm with all his strength, but Andy knew it was hopeless. Jasper could knock him aside with no effort.

The farther Andy got from the ocean, the more nervous she got. Ares lunged forward and a deep gash showed up on Andy's side. She couldn't feel the pain, but she could feel the effects of blood loss. She was dizzy. This wasn't looking good for her. Would Ares kill her? She had no idea. Behind her, police sirens were sounding. A bunch of cars had pulled up on the beach, surrounding the four on the sand. A policeman got up to a megaphone.

"Drop the guns! Set them on the ground now!"

Guns? That must be what the mortals saw. Andy didn't have time to ponder this. She was woozy. She needed to end this fight and now. While Ares was distracted blowing up police cars, Andy darted forwards and rolled between his legs. She rose and rushed to the ocean. Almost instantly, she could feel the healing effects of the water. Her head was clearing. Now she just needed to beat Ares.

Andy saw Ares rushing towards her. It was now or never. It took all her strength, but Andy managed to gather control of the waters. She pushed them back, holding back the tide. Above her, three seagulls circled the fight. No, not seagulls. The furies. Would they kill her even if she won the fight?

Ares was rushing towards her. Andy could feel the ocean trying to lift her off her feet, not used to bowing to a master. It was almost time. Ares was only a foot away when Andy let go of the tides. She shot up over Ares' head while the god was smacked in the face with a wall of water. Andy turned and slashed her sword at the gods heel. Golden ichor seeped out of the slight wound.

Andy lifted her sword to fight more. It felt heavier, though. As though life itself was slowing down around her. Ares was glaring at her, and, out of the corner of her eye, Andy could see Grover and Jasper running towards her.

The moment only lasted a few seconds before time was flowing normally again. Ares scowled at Andy and disappeared with a snap of his fingers. Jasper almost immediately had Andy in his arms, hand running over the rip in her shirt where Ares had cut her. The injury was completely healed, but Andy still felt weak: like she could sleep for a week.

"The helm?" Andy asked. Her voice was slurred. From blood loss or exhaustion, she wasn't sure. Probably a mix of both. Gods, she just wanted to sleep. Cops were surrounding them. Grover came up on Andy's left side and moved her arm over his shoulder. Jasper did the same. A cop in a sports jacket, probably the head detective, stepped forward.

"Andrea Jackson?" he asked. Andy nodded. "We have some questions for you."

"Excuse me," a cold voice said from behind Andy, Jasper, and Grover. Andy recognized it instantly. "Caroline Dodds, FBI. I'm leading this case. If you'll excuse me." The cops took one look at Mrs. Dodds and her two companions and high-tailed it out of there. Perks to being a monster, Andy supposed.

"Alecto," Jasper greeted coldly. His eyes were hungry. Andy wondered if he was thinking about how the fury would taste. "We have something that should be returned to your master."

Jasper held out his hand with the helm in it. Alecto took it grimly. She nodded at the vampire, satyr, and demigod.

"We'll be seeing each other again sometime," she said. Then, she turned, and great, black, leathery wings erupted from her and her sisters' backs. They took off into the night sky.

The furies had just flown out of sight when Jasper's phone buzzed. He pulled it out and glanced at the text, a small smirk gracing his face. He quickly typed something back to whoever had texted before looking up at Andy and Grover.

"Our wide awaits us," he said happily. "Follow me."

Jasper started to walk at a brisk pace. Andy and Grover had to jog to keep up. Now, they just had the job of getting the bolt back to Mt. Olympus before sunset.

* * *

The entire Cullen family was sitting on the plane that Jasper, Andy, and Grover climbed aboard. They were all staring at Andy, and she suddenly felt anxious and self-conscious with the eyes of these ethereal vampires on her. Grover had inched away from Andy and sat down on a couch near the front of the plane, leaving Andy to the scrutiny of the six vampires in front of her.

The vampire closest to Andy was grinning widely at her. She had dark hair, cut short and choppy, and couldn't be much taller than 4'11". Next to her, a taller vampire with brown, messy hair stood. He was glaring at Andy almost suspiciously. A few feet from the glaring vampire was a smiling brunette. As soon as Andy saw the woman, she was instantly reminded of her mother. A tall blond had an arm wrapped around the waist of the brunette. The blond was also smiling. Sitting on the couch directly across from Andy was a tall blond girl, who was also glowering at Andy, and an extremely tall, buff vampire with brown hair cropped short.

"You guys are making her uncomfortable," Jasper said draped an arm over Andy's shoulders. He gently steered her over to a couch and helped her sit down. "Can you not stare so much?"

"We're so sorry, dear," the motherly vampire said sincerely. She rushed forwards and took Andy's hands in her own. "I'm Esme, Jasper's mother for all intents and purposes. The blond over there is my husband Carlisle. It's so nice to meet you."

"You too," Andy mumbled, a dark blush covering her cheeks. "Jasper's told me a lot about you all."

"Whatever Jazz said was a lie," the biggest vampire boomed. He sent a grin at Andy. "I"m Emmett, little dolphin."

"Dolphin?" Andy asked. She looked between Jasper and Emmett, confused.

"Emmett likes coming up with stupid nicknames," the blond next to Emmett said. "I'm his mate Rosalie."

"It's nice to meet you," Andy said. Rosalie rolled her eyes and turned away. Andy squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

"Be nice, Rosalie," the male vampire Esme introduced as Carlisle scolded. "Andy is very much welcome in our family."

"She's human!" the bronze haired vampire complained. "Carlisle, she'll be a danger to us!"

"No, Edward," the pixie vampire said. "She's not, and you know it. Andy is going to be an excellent addition to our family." The pixie turned to Andy. "I'm Alice, and this is my mate Edward. He and Rosalie are a little wary of strangers." Alice to turned to Grover. "Hello, Grover," she said. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Oh, hello," Grover said awkwardly. Andy had a feeling he had been trying to avoid being noticed by the vampires. He had only just barely gotten used to Jasper.

* * *

"Is she asleep yet?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah," Jasper said. "How much farther to JFK?"

"30 minutes," Carlisle replied. "You'll have two hours after that to get the bolt to Olympus. Can you manage it?"

"Of course," Jasper replied. He sat down on the couch Andy was asleep on and lifted her head into his lap. Absentmindedly, he brushed his fingers through her dark locks.

"You're worried about her." Everyone looked at the young satyr in shock. It was the first time he had spoken since saying hello to Alice.

"How'd you know?" Jasper asked, looking over at Grover.

"Satyrs have a gift similar to your own," Grover answered, shrugging his shoulders. "You're scared of what Zeus will do to her."

"I am," Jasper agreed. "There's no knowing what Zeus will do when faced with the product of Poseidon's broken oath."

"I don't understand that stupid oath," Rosalie said angrily. She had her arms crossed, and she was glaring at the table in front of her. "I mean, who would willingly want to stop having kids?"

"What if you thought your child would end the world?" Jasper asked. "If you knew that, beyond a doubt, your child has a fifty-fifty chance of ending the entire world, would you really want to bring that into the world?"

Rosalie scowled but said no more. The others were silent until the landed on the ground.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, I am ridiculously bad with updating this story, but I honestly have no time on my hands. I'm trying. I really truly am. This is a short filler chapter before the beginning of _The Sea of Monsters_.**

 **Reviews:**

 **NicoleR85: Thanks for sticking with the story through my ridiculous updating. It means a lot.**

 **MoonPrincess623: I hope you continue enjoying the story. That is one of the kindest reviews someone has ever given me.**

 **brantleyh936: Thanks for sticking with the story.**

 **2kewl4u: Thank you so much.**

 **ChipDaCookie: Sorry about the delay. I will try to be more regular and update at least once a month.**

 **Captain Moroni: Haha nope. Edward is with Alice for this story. I figure the two with the psychic-like powers are good enough for each other.**

 **BIG SHOUT OUT TO RENESMEE MELLARK CULLEN WHO IS TRANSLATING THIS FIC INTO SPANISH. CHeCK IT OUT IF YOU KNOW THE LANGUAGE!**

* * *

Jasper squeezed Andy's hand tightly as she pulled away from him. The Empire State Building loomed menacingly over them. The Cullens were waiting for Jasper in the shadows with Grover.

"Are you sure you want to do this alone?" Jasper asked.

"I don't want you or Grover getting hurt," Andy replied. She pulled her hand away from Jasper's. "I'll see you at Camp Half-Blood. Promise."

"That best be a promise you can keep," Jasper said. He bent down and kissed Andy's forehead lightly. "I'll be waiting for you." With that, Jasper took off down the road to join his family and Grover.

Andy looked up at the tall building in front of her. It didn't appear quite so intimidating as before. Confidence filling her, Andy stepped into the main lobby of the building.

* * *

"Andy," Sally Jackson screeched as she flung the door open. Her arms flew out and around her daughter, squeezing the young girl tightly to her chest. "Baby girl! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Sally's mothering instincts had taken over quickly. She pulled back and scanned her daughter up and down.

"I'm okay, Mom," Andy said, smiling widely. "Promise."

"Oh, sweetie," Sally sighed, dragging her daughter inside the room and shutting the door.

"Where's the meatloaf, Sally?"

Andy scowled at Gabe's foul voice. Couldn't she have one peaceful moment with her mother. Sally sent Andy a sympathetic look. She rested a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Don't make him mad," she pleaded. "He's already mad enough. Something about free appliances."

"Yeah, right," Andy mumbled, hiding a grin behind her hair as she looked down at her toes.

Sally smiled fondly at her daughter and went to the kitchen to take her meatloaf out of the oven. Andy sighed as she walked through the ankle-deep trash on the floor. How had Gabe survived without her mother around? The apartment was disgusting.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming back here, you little bitch."

And there was Gabe's ever-so-lovely voice. Andy lifted her head and glared at him, but said nothing. There was no point. The hits would come anyway.

Sure enough, Gabe was rising from his chair. Before Andy could even think about stepping back, a fat, beefy hand was wrapped around her throat, shoving her back against the wall. A fist was being raised, and Andy closed her eyes in resignation. This was her life. She was used to it. Only the hit never came.

"Don't you ever even think of touching her again."

Jasper's voice was the figurative music to Andy's ears. The blond vampire had pushed Gabe off of her and shoved him up against the wall. Jasper's hand was wound threateningly tight around Gabe's throat, and the mortal was gasping for breath. Gabe's pudgy fingers clawed at Jasper's diamond-tough skin. Gabe made a gurgling sound, and Jasper dropped him.

"No," Jasper whispered in horror. He backed away from Gabe as the mortal collapsed to the floor, choking for breath. "I didn't-"

"Jazz," Andy said, stepping towards the vampire.

Jasper shook his head wildly, backing away from Andy. His back his the wall, and he slid to the ground, shaking his head. His amber eyes met Andy's.

"I didn't mean to kill him. I swear. I-"

Andy hushed Jasper as she knelt down next to him. She wrapped her arms around his solid shoulders.

"It's okay, Jazz," she murmured into his ear. "He's not dead. It's okay."

"No," Jasper said, shaking his head again. "You don't understand. I wanted to. I wanted to kill him. I saw him hurting you, and something inside me snapped. All my instincts were screaming at me to protect you."

"And you did." Andy ran her hands soothingly up and down Jasper's arms. Just as Jasper was starting to relax, he stiffened up again. A low growl escaped his throat. Andy turned her head to see what was happening.

Sally Jackson had just walked into the room. She was staring at Gabe with terrified eyes as the man stomped up to her with his hand raised. Andy let out a soft squeak. For the first time, she realized Gabe had been beating not just her, but her mother as well.

Jasper was up in an instant, gently pushing Andy behind him. In a matter of a couple steps, he crossed the room and had Gabe by the neck again.

"Leave," the vampire hissed in the mortal's face. "Now, before I do something I regret."

Gabe stared at the vampire with wide eyes. As soon as Jasper loosened his grip, Gabe fled the room and the apartment. Jasper turned instantly to Andy with pitch black eyes.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice rumbling out from somewhere deep in his chest.

Andy recognized the look in Jasper's eyes from what felt like so long ago. She hadn't seen this side of the vampire since they had first met. "I'm better than ever, Major." Andy smiled widely up at Jasper. She jumped when she heard her mother's voice, having forgotten the older woman was in the room.

"Who in the name of Hades are you, and how do you know my daughter?"

This would take awhile to explain.


	12. Chapter 12

**There's been a change of plans. There's no way I'm writing out all five books when everything pretty much happens the same. So, time for a time skip that probably would have happened anyways. So yeah, now we're kind of at the Battle of Manhattan, and I took out the half chapter I had written for Sea of Monsters. It just wasn't coming to me. Sorry, but this is how things are rolling. Any major deviancy, I will show in a flashback.**

 **TRIGGER WARNING: Description of torture. Not very graphic.**

*Time Skip Three Years*

*Manhattan, One Day before the Battle Begins*

Andy smiled as Jasper stepped out of the van in front of her. She couldn't get enough of seeing him these days. Andy opened her arms for a hug, but Jasper just frowned at her.

"There's something off about you," he mumbled softly, his lips barely moving. "There are forty of us."

"And an entire army of them," Andy agreed.

She and Jasper started walking towards the Empire State Building. Walking beside Jasper now, Andy truly understood how a seventeen year-old could be made a major in an army. She could see her best friend's mind going a mile a minute. Jasper was forming battle plans for every possible outcome.

"I bathed in the River Styx," Andy said softly.

Jasper didn't reply. He opened the door to the Empire State Building, and Andy stepped in. Jasper followed closely behind. She could hear the clanking of weapons as the others entered behind them.

"That's what's different." Andy walked up to the doorman and asked for the keycard.

"No 600th floor," the doorman said. He didn't bother looking up from his book.

Andy rolled her eyes. They did not have time to deal with this right now. Jasper looked to be on the verge of growling at the ridiculous mortal, or whatever this man was.

"Forty demigods and a vampire," Andy said. "You really want us waiting down here?"

The man looked up, startled, and Jasper gave him a feral grin. The man pointed nervously towards the elevator. They all marched over.

Andy took the first group of twenty up in the elevator. Jasper was taking p the second. There would be no way they would all fit. The ride seemed to go extra slow as they made their way up. Waiting for Jasper and the others seemed even longer.

"Shall we?" Jasper asked, holding his arm out for Andy.

She took it, and they all began to make their way through the silent streets of Olympus. Andy took everything in. Nothing had changed since her last visit. To the naked eye, everything was as it should be. Except there was no noise. Like someone had taken a giant vacuum and sucked up all the noise.

"What is that?" Pollux asked.

Andy and Jasper looked at the last remaining son of Dionysus, then at the blue lights streaking towards them, fizzling out before they could reach them.

"There like infrared scopes," Michael Yew said. He glared at the lights. "We're being targeted."

"Keep moving," Jasper called out over the whispers of the group. "We don't have time for this."

Everyone hushed under his authoritative command. Andy looked up into her best friend's eyes. Pitch black. Jasper was gone. This was Major Whitlock. And who knew how long he'd be here for.

* * *

Seeing Lady Hestia again so soon after her dip in the Styx wasn't at the top of Andy's list. Nevertheless, she greeted the goddess cordially when she saw her in the Throne Room of the gods.

"Andrea Jackson," Hestia greeted. She turned to Jasper. "And Jasper Whitlock. Or do you prefer Hale?"

"Either," Jasper said softly. Andy looked up at his face. His eyes were downcast, and he was clutching his hands together tightly. She had never seen him like that.

Hestia smiled as stood up. She stepped in front of Jasper and embraced him. Jasper looked shocked for a moment before hugging the young goddess back. Hestia turned her head and Andy met her eyes, the flames twisted and formed an image in Andy's mind.

Jasper was chained to the stone behind him by a collar around his neck. His chest was bare, and only a pair of cotton pants, ripped and bloody at the knee. The backs of the ankles were bloody too. Jasper was lying on his side, legs stretched out. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and sobs wracked his chest. His skinny chest. Jasper couldn't be any older than fifteen or sixteen. He was younger than Andy.

"Is the little boy crying?"

The voice was cruel and cold, and it made Andy cringe. She watched the blond man who walked in. His lightning blue eyes almost reminded Andy of Thalia Grace's. The daughter of Zeus' eyes were warmer though. This man's eyes only held malice.

As soon as Jasper saw the man, he tried to stifle his sobs with one hand while the other hastily wiped his tears.

"You are," the man mocked. He knelt down in front of Jasper and grabbed his chin, forcing his head up at an awkward angle. "Poor baby. Did you not like the hamstringing?" Jasper flinched at the mention of what must have just happened to him. "Are you going to tell me where your precious Greek friends are hidden? Or do you want to have more fun with me?"

"I hate you," Jasper whimpered out through choked sobs. "I won't give them up."

"They did say you were strong," the man said with a smirk. He pulled a strange metal contraption from the pocket of his overcoat and grabbed Jasper's hands. He placed Jasper's thumbs between the two pieces of spiked metal. Andy didn't have to see to know what would happen next, so she closed her eyes and cringed as she listened to Jasper's screams of intense pain.

"Andy?" Jasper shouted. He gripped her waist before she could collapse to the ground. "What happened?"

Andy looked into Jasper's black eyes. "He was torturing you," was all she could manage to get out. She blinked away the tears and steadied herself using Jasper's arms. Now was not the time. They could talk later. Andy thought she might break if she asked Jasper about his torture under the hands of the Romans right now, because that could have been nothing else.

"Andy?" Jasper asked again, softly.

She shook her head and turned back to Hestia. Andy kept her eyes firmly on the goddess' lips. She couldn't bare to see any more of what she had been watching.

"Lady Hestia," she said softly. Her voice only cracked once. "We've come on urgent business. We need-"

"We know exactly what you need."

Andy turned around. She blinked at the salt-and-pepper-haired god standing before her.

"Lord Hermes." Andy bent her back in a slight bow.

"I will leave you now," Hestia mumbled. She disappeared in a flash of flame.

"Hello, Andy," Hermes said softly. He glanced quickly over at where his sons and daughters were standing and gave them a tight-lipped smile. The war had brought stress to the fun-loving god. "Major Whitlock."

Jasper simply nodded his head at the god. "Zeus didn't send Athena?"

"Seems the goddess of battle strategy is required to fight Typhon." Hermes did his best not to look too bitter.

"I'll do anything I can to avoid the bitch, myself," Jasper grunted.

Hermes smirked. "I forgot how fun you are to talk to , Major." The god turned steely eyes back to Andy. "I am Lord Zeus' messenger. May I take a message?"

"Travis, Connor, lead a sweep of the city," Jasper barked. His black eyes flashed as he dared anyone to go against him. "I want all of you going."

"We're on it, Major," Travis Stoll said eagerly. His younger brother nodded in agreement. They looked eager to be given an important mission in front of their dad. The demigods all filed out.

"We need help here," Andy said as soon as the last demigod had exited the room. "We can't hold Kronos back by ourselves."

"No," Hermes said. "But if the gods ignore Typhon to help you, he will destroy everything. We cannot come."

"Olympus needs more defenses than just forty demigods," Jasper argued. "It's not enough to hold back the Titan army."

"There are defenses in the sky." Hermes swung his staff in a circle. "The titans will have to march on foot to gain Olympus. The wind gods will not allow them through the air."

"It's not enough," Jasper said through gritted teeth. He looked like he was doing his best not to argue.

"It has to be." Hermes looked at his watch. "Athena says to remember Plan Twenty-Three and to remember the rivers. I must go."

And like that, he was gone, leaving Andy and Jasper alone.

* * *

Jasper explained Plan Twenty-Three to Andy as they walked back through the streets of Olympus. Living statues lying dormant all around the city. It wasn't the weirdest thing she had ever heard.

The campers were all gathered at the edge of the mountain, surrounding a guard rail with a bunch of binoculars attached. Everything was silent. The campers were all staring at Andy and Jasper, seemingly asking what to do. Andy couldn't have told them. She had never heard it this quiet in Manhattan. Even from the top of Mount Olympus, she had always been able to hear the hustle and bustle from below.

"What's wrong with them?" Jasper asked, more demanded, peering over the edge of the rail. "Are they lying down?"

Andy had to see this for herself. She went up to one of the binoculars and peered through. Sure enough, the few people on the streets below them were, in fact, lying down.

"Are they dead?" Silena Beauregard of the Aphrodite cabin asked.

"No," Andy said. She continued to look over the balcony in horror.

"And see the world in endless sleep," Jasper whispered. His voice carried over the entire crowd of silent demigods. He let his cold hand rest on Andy's shoulder in a form of comfort when he could find none inside himself to project to her.

* * *

Argus was waiting for the group of demigods when they exited the Empire State Building. Andy directed him to return to camp and guard the borders along with the Ares cabin who had stayed behind. Jasper stopped Argus for a minute. Jasper spoke in quiet, hushed whispers, and Argus handed him a metal plate from inside the van. Jasper set it down on the ground as the white Delphi's Strawberries van drove off.

When Andy first looked into the pipe, all she saw was the tall buildings above her, but Jasper swiped his hand across the metal, and the image shifted to show the Statue of Liberty.

"That's insane," Austin from the Apollo cabin muttered as everyone watched the images spin by. Jasper was quick to go through them, his vampire mind processed everything faster than the demigods brains.

Andy called over her pet hellhound as Jasper continued to scan the city for enemies. Mrs. O'Leary came up to her eagerly. Ever since she had inherited the beast from Daedalus, the inventor, Mrs. O'Leary had been a faithful companion. Of course, Jasper was most certainly not allowed to eat her, no matter how hungry he might get. He was always very careful around the hellhound for Andy's sake.

"Hey, girl," Andy whispered. "I need you to do a favor for me. You remember that satyr we met earlier with Nico? I need you to go find him for me. Can you do that?"

Mrs. O'Leary let out a loud bark, thumping her tail once, twice, and bounded off. Andy took that as a yes.

"Andrea," Jasper called. "You should see this."

Andy stood and looked over his shoulders. She took in the image of the Long Island Sound with dozens of speedboats filled with monsters crossing it. She could feel her stomach physically drop.

"Can you scan the perimeter of the island?" she asked.

Jasper did as told. There was a ferry of monsters crossing by Ellis Island. Giants and other monsters were marching around stopped traffic to the Lincoln Tunnel. Everything outside of the city of Manhattan seemed to be going in slow motion.

"Kronos is slowing time," Andy said.

"Hecate may be helping," Jasper said. "She has magic you wouldn't even be able to imagine. We shouldn't expect any help coming in."

"Alright." Andy clenched her hands into fists. Blunt nails dug into the roughened skin of her palms. "We're going to hold Manhattan."

"Manhattan's huge," Silena argued. She tugged nervously at her armor.

"We have to," Andy insisted.

"She's right." Jasper stood, wiping his hands on his pants. "The wind gods will stop an aerial attack, but it's up to us to block all the entrances and keep the titan's from getting in."

"They have boats," Michael Yew of the Apollo cabin pointed out.

"I'll take care of the rivers," Andy said. "Jasper and I can handle that together. As for the rest of you, you need to hold the tunnels and the bridges. Let's assume they'll try a midtown or downtown assault, at least on their first try. That would be the most direct way to the Empire State Building. Michael, take Apollo's cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's cabin takes the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy in the tunnel. Do whatever you have to do, but keep them out of there! Conner, take half of Hermes cabin and cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, you take the other half and cover the Brooklyn Bridge. And no stopping for looting or pillaging!"

Andy glanced back at Jasper, and he gave her a nod. His face remained stoic, but Andy had learned had to catch the glimpse of pride that flashed across his eyes. His battle strategy training throughout the past few years had worked out for the best.

"Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Hephaestus cabin, barricade the Holland Tunnel with everything you've got. 59th Street Bridge, Clarisse-" Andy paused. The Ares cabin was still at camp, to stubborn to come over a dumb fight with the Apollo cabin.

"Athena will take that," Jasper said. "Malcolm, you'll lead." Jasper's co-counselor, for when the vampire was away from camp, nodded his head. "Everyone keep in touch with cell phones."

"We don't have cell phones," Silena protested.

Jasper pulled one out of his back pocket and tossed it at her. "I've got two."

"Why?" Andy asked, giving Jasper a funny look.

"One for family and one for business." Jasper pulled his other phone from his other pocket. "My number is 674-3856. Write it down if you have to. Pick up a phone and call me if you need to. Drop it immediately after."

"Hold it," Jake Mason from the Hephaestus cabin called out. "You guys forgot the Lincoln Tunnel."

"Crap," Andy muttered. "We don't have anyone else."

"Leave that to us."

Andy turned and grinned widely when she saw Thalia Grace walking towards her with the Hunters of Artemis.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the long absence. I don't really have any excuses, but I've written another chapter, so hey! I'm back!**

* * *

Jasper ran quickly through the streets with Andy on his back. The wind and Jasper's cold body sent shivers down her back, but she made no comment until they stopped in front of a large statue of William H. Seward, the vice president of Abraham Lincoln.

"Why are we here?" Andy asked, looking up at the tall statue.

"Daedalus planted automatons all over New York," Jasper mumbled. He started poking around the statue, looking for something.

Andy resigned herself to waiting for him. Last year, Jasper had led a quest into the Labyrinth to find a way to stop Luke's forces from using it. A huge battle had occurred at Camp before Daedalus himself had given up his life to destroy the Labyrinth. Before he had died, he had given Jasper a laptop with all of his plans on it. That had been the same time Andy inherited Mrs. O'Leary.

"Found it," Jasper said. He pressed something, then stepped back. "Mr. Seward," he called up to the statue. "Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Defend Manhattan. Begin Activation."

William Seward rose from his pedestal and started off in another direction. Jasper let a small smile curl over his face. Andy knew he had been in countless battles in his 150 years of life. He had been one of the commanding officers in most of those battles. He looked to be in his element. Andy climbed back onto his back, and they took off to Battery Park, where the East and Hudson Rivers met.

* * *

While Andy was underneath the polluted rivers, talking to the river gods, Jasper was sitting, thinking over different battle plans. The weakest points in their defense at the moment would either be the Apollo cabin at the Williamsburg Bridge or the Aphrodite cabin at the Queens-Midtown tunnel. If neither called by the time Andy resurfaced, Jasper would take her to go check on the Hephaestus crew really fast before going to help them. They needed to make sure the traps were properly set up. One mistake could lead to a bunch of casualties. Jasper had seen it happen far too many times.

The ringing of his phone distracted Jasper from his thoughts. He quickly picked up and put it to his ear.

"Hello," he said.

"Major Whitlock, sir, we need help." Michael Yew's voice was frantic with worry. Jasper could easily pick out the different screams and shouts of the other Apollo kids and the monsters who were attacking them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jasper saw Andy rise from the water perfectly dry. "We'll be there in no more than two minutes," Jasper promised. He hung up the phone.

"Where are we needed?" Andy asked, stepping up next to Jasper.

"Williamsburg Bridge," Jasper said. He put his phone back in his back pocket and allowed Andy to climb onto his back. He took off in the direction of where they were needed.

* * *

The first thing Andy did when they stopped was go after the minotaur. That beast had been pissing her off since she found out about being a demigod. She hardly even noticed Jasper tailing her, easily picking off monsters that tried to attack her from behind.

"Hey, Meathead!" Andy shouted, raising her sword and stopping in front of the minotaur, Riptide raised in her hand. "Down here!"

The minotaur growled when he saw her. He was no longer wearing the tighty whities Andy had last seen him in. He had bronze armor on and a leather kilt protecting his humanoid legs. The beast raised his axe and roared, charging straight at her. She side-stepped. It seemed to have forgotten that little trick from the first time they had fought. The minotaur made a wide turn and began to charge back at her again, completely ignoring the other demigods and monsters fighting around them.

Andy pulled the hilt of her sword back, the blade pointing straight out and up. She bent her legs, waiting for just the right moment. The minotaur was about twenty feet from her when she pushed off from the ground and began running straight at him. She jumped up onto the hood of a stopped car and used the momentum to push herself up even farther. The minotaur was only a couple feet when she began to fly through the air. Andy thrust her sword forward and up, right under the beast's ribcage. It began to fall as it died.

Andy had forgotten the minotaur's momentum. Her's was hardly enough to push the minotaur back. It began to fall forward, Andy trapped beneath it. She would have been crushed if Jasper hadn't been watching her and darted to grab her around the waist and pull her back before she could be crushed between dead bull and asphalt.

Jasper put her down right next to the minotaur's body. It quickly dissolved, and Andy darted in to grab her sword. The Apollo cabin rushed forward, Jasper leading them. Andy grinned wildly and joined them. Adrenaline was pumping through her. Her sword sliced through dracanae and hellhounds easily, like a spoon through blue pudding. Jasper had pulled a smaller monster that Andy hadn't recognized from her brief glance off to the side and quickly drained it before rejoining the fight. The monsters were retreating. They were actually winning.

At least, Andy thought that until she saw who exactly was waiting for them on a skeletal horse at the other end of the bridge. Seeing Luke's face with evil golden eyes instead of kind blue was enough to make even Jasper look a little disturbed.

"Retreat!" Andy shouted. "I'll hold them off!"

The Apollo cabin listened, but Jasper stayed right by her side, a low snarl rising in his throat at the threat that was posed to her. Andy hadn't expected him to leave. He would never leave her side if he thought she was in danger.

Before the Apollo kids could get to far away, Kronos' cavalry, all of them on skeletal horses, surrounded them. Kronos advanced leisurely, like he had all the time in the world. Jasper busied himself by dismembering the skeletal horses the demigods were riding. Andy used Riptide to wound the demigods. She didn't want to kill them. The first demigod she attacked had lost her helmet. Andy had recognized the girl, a daughter of Eris from her first year in camp.

Andy kept fighting until she heard a grunt and a loud crash from behind her, like stone hitting stone. She flipped around and stared in horror at Jasper. He was lying on the ground, hand grasping his shoulder. Shiny, clear liquid was soaking his shirt and hand. He had been wounded? Andy looked up at the demigod standing behind Jasper. Ethan Nakamura. Andy had tried to save him in Daedalus' Labyrinth just last summer. The knife in his hand was covered in the same clear fluid as Jasper's shoulder. Andy deftly noticed the angle it was at. The small of her back. Andy's mind flashed to what she had done just the other day.

The water burned as it surrounded her. It was the first time Andy had ever felt uncomfortable while submerged in water. She kept her mind focused on the small of her back, her mortal point. She couldn't lose her focus. It would mean her death. Andy glanced up to the surface. Jasper was there, smiling widely at her. Except it wasn't Jasper. He looked different. His skin was darker, tan. His eyes were a beautiful silvery gray, only the ring around the iris was amber. His canines were duller as well, not a point. Jasper reached down and took Andy's hand, pulling her out of the River Styx. Hopefully, the Curse of Achilles had worked.

Just a scratch from the knife would have been enough to kill Andy, send her soul straight to the Underworld. Hades would have been so happy. Andy raised her sword and knocked Ethan back with the flat.

"Stand back!" she screamed, standing defensively over Jasper. "All of you stand back!"

"How fascinating," Kronos said, finally stepping forwards. "So vampires can be injured. I was so hoping." Kronos's lips curled back in a toothy grin. "Bravely fought, Andrea Jackson. Now, stand down, or he dies."

"Don't you dare," Jasper snarled. He tried to lift himself up, but his weak arm collapsed underneath him. He fell back to the ground.

"Blackjack!" Andy screamed. Quicker than she could have thought possible, a black pegasus Andy had saved several years previous from the titan's swooped down and landed between Andy and Kronos. Blackjack bent his neck and allowed Jasper to wrap an arm around his strong neck.

"Andy," Jasper started to say, but Blackjack was already taking off.

"Some day," Kronos growled, "I will make pegasus soup, but first..."

Andy hardly had time to lift her sword before Kronos was bringing his scythe down towards her head. Andy blocked it and made a swipe at Kronos' stomach. The sword bounced off. Nico had been right. Luke had taken the Curse of Achilles as well, so he could hold Kronos' spirit.

"Nice try," Kronos sneered.

He swung again. Andy ducked and kicked out, knocking Kronos' legs out from underneath him. He fell back, the entire bridge shaking from the impact. Kronos jumped back to his feet and slammed the butt of his scythe against the bridge.

"I am a TITAN!" he screeched as everyone was thrown back. Andy groaned as she hit a car. "You shall NOT defeat me!"

Andy got to her feet. There were large cracks running along the bridge, and suspension cords whipped around in the wind. Most of the remaining Apollo campers had made it to the opposite end of the bridge. Andy and Michael Yew, the leader, were the only ones left from the gods' side. Michael was standing on top of an overturned car, his bow knocked and pointing at Kronos.

"Run, Michael!" Andy shouted. "Leave now!"

"The bridge, Andy!" he shouted back. "It's already weak! Break it! Use your powers!"

It was a last, desperate attempt, but Andy stabbed Riptide down into one of the fissures in the concrete. She pulled the sword out, and pieces of bridge began to crumble into the river below them. The only thing connecting the two sides of the bridge was a couple suspension wires, yet they were still a way across. Andy looked across the wide gap. The sun was beginning to rise behind Kronos.

"Until tomorrow, Jackson," he called. His army turned and left.

Andy turned to find a lone bow resting, cracked, on the pavement.

"Michael?" Andy called out. She began searching through the rubble, but was interrupted by a phone call on her mom's cell that she had taken when they found Sally and Paul asleep in their car.

"Hello," Andy said into the mouthpiece.

"Andy," Silena's voice rang back. "You need to hurry. It's Jasper. He's not good."

Andy snapped the phone shut and started running in the direction of the hotel they had overtaken.


	14. Chapter 14

**Last chapter in this first book. I'm currently writing the epilogue and plan to have it up tonight. I don't know when I'll post the first chapter of the next book, but it should be fairly soon, and I'll post an AN on this one to tell everyone about it. Enjoy!**

* * *

Andy's first sight of Jasper wasn't pretty. He was paler than normal. He was lying on the floor, on top of dozens of pillows. The deep colors made him seem even paler. Jasper was clutching his shoulder, his eyes screwed up in pain. Andy knelt down beside him, running her fingers as soothingly as she could through his hair.

"Jazz?" she asked.

He opened his eyes and smiled weakly at her.

"Are you alright?"

"Been better, Sugah." Jasper's eyes squeezed shut again, clenching against the pain.

"How did he hurt you?" Andy could feel tears filling her eyes. Since she had known him, Jasper had always been indestructible.

"Venom," Jasper hissed weakly. "The only thing that can penetrate a vampire's skin is venom."

Andy traced her fingers over Jasper's neck. A hundred tiny little indentations, hardly noticeable even to her advanced demi godly sight, covered the icey, pale skin. Scars from the Southern Wars. Scars Jasper wasn't proud of.

"It's also the only thing that can scar us."

Andy smiled sadly at Jasper and lied down on the pillows next to him. "You'll get better, though?" she asked.

"I'll be right as rain in the morning," Jasper promised. He smiled weakly. "I'm already stitching back together. That's the real painful part."

As if to prove his point, Jasper pulled his hand from his shoulder and let Andy watch the skin stitch itself together. It was horrifying, yet she couldn't seem to look away.

"Why'd you do it?" It had been bothering her since Jasper had been hurt. "You knew I had the Curse of Achilles."

"My instincts." Jasper stretched out his good hand and placed it on the small of Andy's back, her Achilles' Heel. "I knew you were in danger. I won't let you die, Andrea."

Andy smiled and lightly kissed Jasper's cheeks. "I love you too, Major Whitlock."

Jasper smiled and rested his head back on the pillows, his face ever so much more serene.

* * *

After Jasper's injury, everything seemed to pass in a blur for Andy. Everything was one giant smudge of death and blood, clotting together until it built up and gave her a heart attack. First there was the meeting with the titan Prometheus, where he gave her Pandora's Pithos (which was apparently not a box). Then, there was battle after battle. The flying sow, which she had sicced the New York Library lions on, the dracken, which had killed poor Silena Beauregard. Fight after fight. People dying left and right. Andy and Jasper refused to let each other out of sight. After Jasper's injury, Andy didn't think she could take not knowing where he was.

They had been pushed back to the Empire State Building. Chiron had been buried under a pile of rubble, and Kronos was staring her down from inside a forcefield. Jasper, Thalia Grace and Grover, her sweet, sweet satyr friend, were staring down Luke Castellan's possessed body with her. Outside their little bubble, Nico di Angelo had convinced his father, Persephone and Demeter to join the fray. Even Andy's mortal mother and stepfather had joined the fight. The Underworld gods and the gods of nature were obliterating the monsters.

Inside the force field with Kronos and Ethan Nakamura, a demigod son of Nemesis, they were having no such luck. Kronos had easily pushed aside Andy, Jasper, Grover and Thalia and was already most likely at the top of the Empire State Building. The group was still still stuck inside the elevator. Andy was reminded painfully of a similar elevator ride. One taken in St. Louis. They had been joined by Echidna and the Chimera on that particular ride. Much like today, Luke had also been the villain on that quest.

The elevator dinged, and the doors shuttered open. Andy couldn't help the wetness in her eyes at the catastrophe Olympus had become. They ran through the deserted, trashed streets. Windows were broken, buildings turned to rubble, and, here and there, a large fire was roaring. It was so different from the first time Andy had been. All around them, the city was crumbling.

They were almost to the throne room when a statue of Hera fell from its high perch towards Andy and Thalia. Jasper roared and jumped at them, pulling Andy out from underneath. Thalia wasn't so lucky. Jasper had managed to pull her back enough to save her life, but her legs were crushed under the rubble. The vampire moved to start pulling away the boulders, but Thalia shook her head.

"Keep going," she yelled through the pain. "I'll be alright. You need to stop Luke."

Andy was reminded painfully of how Thalia and Luke had been best friends when they were children, on the run together. Jasper grabbed her hand and pulled her along into the throne room with Grover.

Kronos was standing tall in the center of the room, and it made Andy furious more than anything ever had in her entire life. She pulled Riptide out like an old instinct. Grover was holding a wooden cudgel, and even Jasper was holding a short knife. Andy had never seen it before.

"Welcome!" Kronos said giddily. "Welcome to the Throne Room of the Titans. The Throne Room of the Second Golden Age." Golden eyes turned on Andrea. "And your blood, Andrea Jackson, shall paint my throne."

Kronos started forward, his scythe raised in the air. Gold light shone from his entire body. Andy lifted Riptide. This was a titan in his full glory. She had no hope of winning this fight. But she would die trying to save the ones she loved. With a roar, Kronos brought his scythe down, Andy blocked him. His force made her arms quake and quiver. She wouldn't be able to hold him back for very long. The scythe was getting closer to her face. Would this magic blade be able to pierce her hardened skin?

She didn't have to find out. Jasper had pushed her to the side and taken her place. But even the centuries old vampire wasn't a match for the millenia old titan. Kronos sent out a burst of power and sent Jasper flying back into his mother's throne, turning it to rubble. He lay there, clutching his weak shoulder in pain.

"Jasper!" Andy screamed. She stood motionless. Running to Jasper would leave her back to Kronos, and she would have to fight Ethan Nakamura to get to him.

"Kill the vampire, Nakamura!" Kronos shouted. "Go! You have the only weapon capable of killing a vampire in the entire city!"

Ethan lifted his stiletto knife. Vampire venom made the bronze blade glisten. Andy watched it in sick amazement. One slice of the stiletto would be enough to slice off one of Jasper's limbs given enough force. Ethan stared at Kronos with his one good eye, then charged.

Kronos didn't even blink. He slammed the butt of his scythe into the floor, and it crumbled away. Ethan fell to his death from thousands of feet in the air. Kronos smirked and turned back to Andy. He swung his scythe and shoved her to the ground. He slammed his foot into her stomach, holding her in place and sending all of the air out of her stomach. Coughing, Andy weakly brought Riptide up in defense. Kronos laughed cruelly and kicked it aside. He held the scythe, point down, above her heart.

"Prepare to die," he whispered, malice painting his tone, but Andy saw something in his face. A flicker of doubt in his eyes, of flicker of Luke's bright blue.

Jasper had seen it to. He rose, the sharp blade of his knife held loosely in his hand. He stepped forward next to the titan.

"Luke." Despite all the pain in his newly ripped open shoulder, his voice was strong. "Stop!"

Gold eyes flickered blue again, for longer this time. Blue met black.

"Major Whitlock?" Luke asked softly. He stepped back from Andy, and she sat up. Luke stumbled towards Jasper, Kronos' scythe falling from his hand. Then, he screamed, falling to his knees. Tears poured down his cheeks, eyes flickered rapidly between gold and blue as Luke fought for control of his body. Jasper knelt next to him, holding his hands tightly, pressing the bronze knife into his hand. Blue eyes gazed blearily down at the weapon.

"Luke," Jasper repeated. "It's you."

"Me?" Luke asked. He gasped again. "It hurts, Major. It hurts so bad."

"I know," Jasper said softly. "I've felt the burn, Luke. I know what it feels like for something else to take over your body. I fought it, but I couldn't beat it. You can, Luke. You can beat him."

Luke's entire body was glowing a brilliant gold. Andy could hardly stand to look at it. A flash of gold ran across Luke's blue eyes.

"I can beat it," Luke muttered. He gripped the knife tightly.

"A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap," Jasper said, his voice hoarse with emotion Andy had never heard. "You are the hero, Luke. You've always been a hero."

Luke's grip tightened on the knife. He glanced at Andy. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Tell them all I'm sorry."

Andy cried when Luke plunged the knife into the crook of his elbow.


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

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"Not enjoying the party?" Andy asked, stepping up next to Jasper on the balcony. The cool night air was refreshing against her heated skin. Jasper's frigid arm felt even better wrapped around her shoulder.

"You know me," Jasper said, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "I'm not fond of parties or crowds."

Andy nodded and reached up to rest her hand on Jasper's that rested on her opposite shoulder. "Are you upset with me?"

"For what?" Jasper inhaled and exhaled loudly, decidedly human in that moment.

"For turning down immortality." Andy didn't turn away from the night sky. The stars were especially bright that night.

"No," Jasper said after a long moment of silence. "You did the right thing back there, recognizing all the other gods. Besides, I can always give you immortality myself."

Andy smiled. "I look forward to it."

"You shouldn't." Jasper let out a grunt that was almost a laugh. "It hurts worse than anything." He took another deep breath. "What else is on your mind? I can practically hear you thinking."

Andy glanced at the knife Jasper held in his hands. It had been cleaned of Luke's blood, but it still gave her shivers. Jasper noticed her look and placed the knife in her hands.

"It belonged to my half sister, Jacqueline. We all called her Jackie for short." Jasper looked up at the full moon, tears he would never shed glistening in his eyes. "She died in the war against the Romans."

Andy turned the knife over in her hands. Jasper hated mentioning this time. He thought of it as the worst time in his life, including the Southern Wars. All she knew was he had been kidnapped and tortured during the war, and that his mother had abandoned him.

"The man who tortured me is the one who killed her. It was during the final battle. I took it from her dead body and I killed him. It was the most satisfying moment of my life."

Andy hugged Jasper, carefully making sure the knife didn't get in the way. She refused to say anything. He needed to finish his story.

"I promised her I would keep her safe. I promised as long as she had that she would be safe. I broke my promise. She died anyway."

"A broken promise, a cursed blade." Andy couldn't bear to look back at the knife she held in her hands.

"Exactly." Jasper pulled Andy closer and rested her chin on his shoulder. She was 5'9" to his 6' even. "I love you, you know."

"I love you too."

Andy looked up, and Jasper looked down. There lips pressed together and it was like a wave crashing over them. Their first kiss. It lit a bubble of hope in Andy's chest where all her deceased friends had left a hole. They pulled back and smiled at each other.

"Happy sixteenth," Jasper said. He moved in to kiss Andy once more.

A more perfect moment she couldn't have if she searched the skies, the seas and all of the underworld.


	16. Sequel is Up!

**Sequel** ** _Jasper Whitlock and the Alliance with Rome_** **has been posted.**


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